RFID hacked via off-the-shelf components

Filed in archive Protection on March 19, 2008

Boing Boing just featured a hacker demonstrating how easy it is to get the content of your RFID-enabled credit cards or anything that is RFID-enabled (like your passport) by using an US$8 RFID reader and a computer (this one is a US$1800 macbook air hehe).



I am really concerned about how some companies fail to encrypt the data stored in their RFID chips. Maybe it should be emphasized that some sort of biometrics must be included before a transaction is authenticated or something similar. I hate to see someone hijacking another person's identity! Frankly, it will not be long before enterprising hackers will equip the reader with an omni-directional external antenna for wider coverage - now that is scary!