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Is RFID Really That Scary?

Posted by timothy on from the relaaaaaax-citizen dept.

tcd004 writes "Defcon participant Chris Paget demonstrated his ability to capture RFID data from people hundreds of feet away for the PBS NewsHour. Paget went through the regular laundry list of security concerns over RFID: people can be tracked, their information accessed, their identities comprimised. Not so fast, says Mark Roberti of RFID Journal. Mark challenges Paget to point to a single instance where RFID was successfully used for nefarious purposes. The signals are too weak and the data is too obscure, according to Roberti. So who is right? Has RFID yet lead to a single instance of identity theft, illegal monitoring, or other security compromise?"

4 of 338 comments (clear)

  1. Yes and no by autocracy · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Tracking one person around a city with RFID would be a nuisance. You'd need multiple points, signal quality would vary wildly, it'd be painful in a way.

    Opposingly, you can get a lot of aggregate data in a semi-closed system. I remember once at a public event I was covering (wearing my journalism hat for a moment) that I thought, "I wish I had an RFID system handy. I could identify all the University students in a moment -- I bet you not a one doesn't have their RFID card on them."

    Tracking could be efficiently done in a system such as a mall or subway with exit monitoring.

    --
    SIG: HUP
  2. Yes and no... by BobMcD · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Is RFID, as described in the article really all that scary? No, not really. E.g.

    30 to 40 million people carry RFID tags on their windshields to allow them to cross bridges, and more carry them in their wallets, and there is not a single example of anyone who had their privacy infringed because of the tags.

    So the fear that the government would use RFID to gain data that they already have is likely debunked. Also the tracking is largely moot. They can do that in all sorts of other ways...

    This is the part that scares me:

    Taken as a whole, Roberti asserts, the benefits of RFID tags -- to track merchandise and packages, and keep track of drugs and food -- far outweigh any downside.

    Where I bought my specific pair of shoes for today likely is not in a database anywhere. With RFID it wouldn't need to be. You just scan the tag and ask the shoes. This potential privacy issue also lacks an implementation, but still represents more information than anyone specifically needs to have. I fear the unintended (or secretly-intended) consequences of all this consumerist stuff in our lives suddenly having a history.

  3. Here's a better Defcon RFID story... by bradorsomething · · Score: 5, Interesting

    A few years ago a gentleman calling himself Major Malfunction decided to do a proof of concept at Defcon on the dangers of RFID. He set up a table with a box doing RFID queries. When the box got a return and found usable data, it snapped a picture.

    Many Federal agents walked by the table. They were not pleased when they found out the nature of the experiment. The data was destroyed, but the point was made. RFID protective wallets sold *real* well that year...

  4. Portable RFID chip Killer by mrops · · Score: 4, Interesting

    If a microwave isn't available

    1) Take a cheap camera flash
    2) Replace strobe with AWG14 or 15 coiled about (ummmmmm.. say) 10 times around your finger (remove finger)
    3) Charge flash (which isn't a flash anymore) and point to your favorite RFID chip, fire.
    4) Enjoy your restored privacy

    Disclaimer: Do not point towards your pace maker.