Identity Card Chip Vulnerable Claims Black Hat Speaker

A security researcher who highlighted at the Black Hat DC Conference 2010 last week that he had cracked an Infineon microchip, is warning customers that they should be “absolutely” worried. The principal engineer and owner of Flylogic Engineering told ZDNet Asia that the chip is “one of the most popular” and used in a myriad devices including the latest e-passports. Citing InformationWeek, he added that the U.K. government also certified Infineon’s chips for use in classified devices. In his presentation at the annual hacker event, he detailed his exploit of the Infineon SLE 66 CL PE, a chip widely used in computers, gaming systems, identity cards and other electronics, according to a report in Dark Reading. The researcher said he was able to bypass the security defenses of the chip and gain access to data such as encryption keys and unique manufacturing information. With the data, counterfeit systems are possible, Christopher Tarnovsky, principal engineer and owner of Flylogic Engineering, said.

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