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Is RFID Really That Scary?
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?"
My bank switched their debit cards over to ones with "PayWave". It's an RFID chip that allows me to just magically wave my card around in the air and pay for stuff at the checkout line. I immediately bought an RFID blocking wallet. I'm a lot more concerned about being tracked by the stores and the bank, being marketed to by telescreens on the sidewalk, etc. than I am about cyber-thieves.
"He who can destroy a thing, controls a thing." --Paul Atreides, Dune
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...
(remove finger)
Holy shit man, I value my privacy but this seems extreme.