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 STAR Network announced the release of STAR CertiFlash, a new PIN debit application designed to improve point-of-sale security using one-time card number technology. When programmed onto a contactless payment device, STAR CertiFlash encrypts each individual transaction, transmitting a card number that is good for only a single use.

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Taiwan’s Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) has announced that the country’s new integrated transit card system is expected to be fully operational by the end of the year, according to squidcard.com.

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The Smart Card Alliance Transportation Council is holding a meeting on open standards payment for public transportation in New York City on September 22 - 23.

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The Toronto Board of Trade (TBT) is urging the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) to stick with its plan of implementing Presto’s smart cards instead of an open payment system for The Greater Toronto Area’s public transit, according to thestar.com.

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New analysis from Frost & Sullivan shows that current smart card-based transit projects in growing European and world cities will lead to an 11% Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) in smart card shipment from 2009 to 2015.

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At the Def Con Hacking Conference in Las Vegas, a team of three physical lock hackers successfully cracked fingerprint-based locks among some other high-tech door and safe locks, according to a Wired article.

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