Radio Frequency Identification Technology for Logistics, Tagging and EPC

Black Hat DC '08 Conference: Hacking into RFID?

Thursday, February 21, 2008

Hacking of RFID smart cards was the biggest deal of 2006. Now that new electronic passports and a slew of other RFID-based government and commercial projects in the works in the United States, hacking is making headlines again.

CNET News reports on Adam Laurie’s “hacking” an American Express card at the conference, and the significance:

Demonstrations like that show the potential misuse of RFID technology in the near future. Without touching someone, a thief could sniff the contents of an RFID-enabled credit card just in passing. The same is true for embedded RFID chips in the human body, work access badges, some public transit cards, and even the new passports in use in more than 45 countries.  [end] 

The Smart Card Alliance Transportation Council has published a white paper examining how the transit industry can best make use of NFC technology.

“One of the major challenges facing transit agencies today is how to capitalize on the ever-growing popularity of mobile phones with a solid mobile strategy,” said Transportation Council Chairman Craig Roberts. “This white paper builds on the knowledge base developed in earlier white papers to foster a greater understanding of NFC technology, explain its role in the transit industry, and shed light on key issues facing the transit industry in developing a mobile strategy.”

read more »

New research from Intersperience shows that a significant number of UK shoppers would not use mobile payment systems over fears of phone hacking.

In a poll of 1,000 UK adults, only 17% indicated that they would like to use their phone as a wallet in future, with 44% citing “a lack of security software” as their chief concern.

read more »

The Peninsula Taxi Association (PTA) in South Africa has launched a electronic fare collection system, granting commuters cashless fare and discounts when using the newly developed contactless-enabled transit card, according to The Cape Times.

read more »

India transport operator Ahmedabad Janmarg Ltd. has launched a smart transit card for commuters traveling on the region’s bus system, according to ISO&Agent.

The agency began a six-month trial and August 2010 followed by a soft and silent launch in January 2012. The card is available now for a nonrefundable fee of 25 rupees ($.50 US cents) and allows commuters to travel for up to 100 minutes on one bus, for the minimum fare.

read more »

Ingenico has announced the launch of a new contactless payment solution for London ‘s famous Black Cab taxis.

Developed as part of a Visa Europe-led initiative to increase card acceptance in London’s taxis, the solution will eventually allow all 25,000 London Black Cab drivers to access contactless payment technology, while enhancing the consumer experience for London commuters, says Ingenico.

read more »

XDA-Developers, an online community of Android and Windows Phone enthusiasts and developers, has uncovered a way to get Google Wallet on Google’s new Galaxy Nexus handset – no hacking required, according to the International Business Times.

read more »