RE: RFID Tags

[James Hester <jay.hester () mci com>]

You run the same risks with using a computer or storing data on any device,
including pen and paper. A tag id by itself is worthless unless you know
exactly what data is stored on it.

A RFid tag has big limitations too, once you chop off part of the antenna
it's worthless. The physics of radio waves limits that.

You can't be tracked "everywhere" you go. It's not cost affective at all. A
tag will transmit around 9 feet.

Battery powered tags are to expensive now to be put on individual items.

Tags can be shut down (killed) in a second with a reader. That is one way to
stop tracking. Privacy groups and doomsday speakers should concentrate more
on having companies shut off the tags when they are done tracking them (sold
from wal-mart) then scaring the general public.

Instead of fearing new technology, how about working with it to find the
best ways to use it?

Tech. improves every day, either we can work with it, or fight it and go
back to the stone age. I would rather work with it so I can have the
challenge of security then not have advancements at all.

Jay

-----Original Message-----
From: lsi [mailto:stuart () cyberdelix net]
Sent: Tuesday, May 11, 2004 3:50 AM
To: tim () labmonkey co uk
Cc: pen-test () securityfocus com
Subject: Re: RFID Tags


I read about some theoretical attacks on RFID:

- unauthorised usage: Black Hat walks onto train with rogue ID
sniffer, gets IDs of all tags in the carriage - this info might be
used to compute the relative value of each commuter's clothes and
belongings, and their origins.  If RFIDs go into drivers licenses,
passports etc, then the presence of those documents will be revealed
without a search.  If the RFIDs go into credit cards, Black Hat will
know how many, and which ones, you have.  And if RFIDs go into cash,
then Black Hat will know how much you're carrying.

- replay attack: sniff a tag's ID, then later, play it back to the
detector and impersonate that tag

"Security professionals need to realize that RFID tags are dumb
devices. They listen, and they respond. Currently, they don't care
who sends the signal. Anything your companies' transceiver can
detect, the bad guy's transceiver can detect. So don't be lulled into
a false sense of security." --
http://www.securityfocus.com/columnists/169

Stuart
On 10 May 2004 at 19:04, Timothy Marshall wrote:

Send reply to:          <tim () labmonkey co uk>
From:                   "Timothy Marshall" <tim () labmonkey me uk>
To:                     <pen-test () securityfocus com>
Subject:                RFID Tags
Date sent:              Mon, 10 May 2004 19:04:35 +0800
Organization:           Labmonkey.co.uk

> Hi,
>
> Does anyone have information / experience on how secure these tags are?
Can
> the data they store be changed in anyway? Can they be copied / faked? If
> they are changed can the original information still be read?
>
> Cheers
>
> Tim
>
>
>
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---
Stuart Udall
stuart at () cyberdelix dot net - http://www.cyberdelix.net/

---
 * Origin: lsi: revolution through evolution (192.168.0.2)


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Ethical Hacking at the InfoSec Institute. Mention this ad and get $545 off
any course! All of our class sizes are guaranteed to be 10 students or less
to facilitate one-on-one interaction with one of our expert instructors.
Attend a course taught by an expert instructor with years of in-the-field
pen testing experience in our state of the art hacking lab. Master the skills
of an Ethical Hacker to better assess the security of your organization.
Visit us at:
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