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Feds At DefCon Alarmed After RFIDs Scanned
FourthAge writes "Federal agents at the Defcon 17 conference were shocked to discover that they had been caught in the sights of an RFID reader connected to a web camera. The reader sniffed data from RFID-enabled ID cards and other documents carried by attendees in pockets and backpacks. The 'security enhancing' RFID chips are now found in passports, official documents and ID cards. 'For $30 to $50, the common, average person can put [a portable RFID-reading kit] together,' said security expert Brian Marcus, one of the people behind the RFID webcam project. 'This is why we're so adamant about making people aware this is very dangerous.'"
...the Feds try to ban the tech to read the RFIDs instead of urging credit card manufacturers/the state department to back off on putting RFID chips into everything?
To the haters: You can't win. If you mod me down, I shall become more powerful than you could possibly imagine
People can't surreptitiously read personal identifying information from a bar code that's in your pocket.
So these sloppy mofos are the ones that are supposed to be "protecting" us? Laughable.
There is a war going on for your mind.
How could they be surprised by this? Were they not aware of the demographic group that attends Defcon? They probably just forgot to wear their tin-foil hats
It is the universe that makes fun of us all.
There is no bar code on my passport, credit card or driver's license. Even if there was, it's unlikely that person sitting at the next table with a portable bar code reader could read the bar code off my Visa card while it's in my wallet.
I don't care why you're posting AC
Right, but they sure can read whatever your RFID has to say. The problem is twofold:
1) Ignorant implementers put sensitive data on RFID's in plaintext.
2) Users are unaware of what data is actually *in* their RFID items.
RFID tags are dumb, low powered, even passive devices. If you can't afford active RFID's with public key encryption, don't put sensitive data on the damn things!
This is completely beyond my comprehension that the Feds are surprised by this. I just assumed that they were doing this on purpose to achieve some grander goal. It's either that, or they are retarded. In fact, there are many things that are happening now which makes me think: "Are they doing this on purpose? Or are they retarded?"
They're faithfully participating in a system which is intentionally insane. It's not that hard to understand...
-1 Uncomfortable Truth
...they have nothing to fear. Let's see how they like that argument used against _them_!
I was charged with writing POS software where I work. After looking into using scanners, I came across RFID. As it turns out, instead of needing to scan your crap, you can just have a magic wand magically take inventory for you. In fact, after looking into it, I realized I could rig sensors in our storage room to automatically re-take inventory periodically.
I'm sure some people are pushing for RFID for the wrong reasons, but I'm all for it as a replacement for barcodes as far as keeping stock goes. Imagine going to Walmart, and your shopping buggy automatically tells the clerk how much money you owe! Well, that might be a ways off, but it's possible.
I think RFID is an awesome tech, it just has a risk for being abused. Just like barcodes are awesome, but we don't want them on our forehead (unless we're playing shadow run, then it's 'cool.)
"Sorrow is better than laughter, for by sadness of face the heart is made glad." [Ecclesiastes 7:3]
So they give you something that they want to read wirelessly, then give you something to keep it from being read wirelessly? Ah, government thought in action.
That's scary!
"The likes of Facebook and WhatsApp are free to those whose privacy is of zero value."
I don't know about the new passports, but RFID-enabled New York State Enhanced Driver Licenses come with a foil sleeve and a recommendation to keep the license in the protective sleeve when not in use.
That's right - the government is providing tinfoil hats for your RFIDs already.
As asinine as possible. The advantage of RFID is convenience. Let's use it and then make it less convenient to use.
General lesson: Convenient or secure. That's an XOR.
We need a "+1 -- nice sig" moderation.
A mag strip is as similar to a barcode as a christmas tree is to a sequoia...
There's nothing particularly special on the RFID chip. A parking facility card and a passport generate the same amount of interesting information. A unique ID. Whew!
The problem is when you have another government computer that is counting on the Unique ID to be a UNIQUE ID, and using ONLY THAT parameter (plus other info also on the card) to identify someone - congratulations, you have just stolen someone else's identity.
Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
RFID is a slightly-longer-range bar-code that doesn't require line-of-sight. But it would certainly be possible to use a digital camera or scanning lasers to do this same sort of thing to any visible bar-codes.
Exactly! My passport has all my information printed on it in plain text - anyone could just walk up to me, grab my passport, and read the information on it - so really, being able to read the same information, at a distance, without my knowledege or consent, is exactly the same thing!
In other words, you're an idiot.
Um, hello? They were selling nice (and very effective) RFID blocking wallets and passport holders there for $20. If you're flying Feds halfway across the country to attend DEFCON, I'm pretty sure you can afford 20 fucking dollars to give yourself some peace of mind.
Of course, some idiot in Gov will propose a 3 billion dollar project called Protect-A-Fed that will invest thousands of man-hours to devise such a device that could prevent RFID tags from being captured...and 4-billion dollars later you'll have a "new and improved" Government-issue $20 RFID wallet.
Yes you can take a photocopy of the key and make a duplicate, but not without raising suspicions from the guys making the duplicate keys (possibly with a phone call to local or state police) or you have to have the equipment yourself and it isn't cheap. With the barcode, you just have to go to the nearest copy machine, and poof, you are in. RFIDs are not quite as easy as the barcode in that sense, but it doesn't cost more then a couple Benjamins to do it.
Again, RFID is a great technology for inventory, NOT access control or data storage! It was designed to be the update to barcodes for stores and warehouses to allow computer systems to keep track of the products, maybe include how old they are as well for things that have sell-by dates. Basically to better, more easily manage a warehouse full of stuff without needing an army of people running around with barcode scanners, scanning everything all the time...But it was not designed with security in mind, which is why all these companies and policies that are being pushed to use it in places which have security concerns should get smacks on the side of the head until they realise that this is NOT the product to do it with.
We were all warned a long time ago that MS products sucked, remember the Magic 8 Ball said, "Outlook not so good"
With all due respect I don't think you've considered your argument particularly well.
The trouble with guns is that the actual time it takes to fatally wound someone is effectively instantaneous. From the point of view of someone in a rage it probably takes less than a few seconds to grab a gun, aim and pull the trigger. This can all be done while the shooter is a safe distance from the victim (so they're not in any particular danger themselves).
If you think that is even remotely similar to strangling, drowning, beating or bludgeoning someone to death then I'd love to hear your argument as to why. For one, any of these would take a good minute or more of sustained rage against the victim to actually result in a death. It would be unusual for someone to take out that level of aggression for such a sustained period of time without at least questioning why they're doing it. Secondly the attacker would also be putting themselves in a lot of danger (It's unlikely I'm going to just let someone beat me to a pulp without trying to retaliate).
Stabbing is different obviously, but I consider someone carrying a concealed knife to be just as crazy as someone carrying a gun.