A
security researcher demonstrated his homegrown RFID-reading equipment at both
Black Hat USA and Defcon 18 to illustrate the lack of security in the
Electronic Product Code (EPC) Class 1 Generation 2 RFID technology used in U.S.
passport cards (not books), enhanced driver’s licenses, and in clothing and
other items at Walmart for inventory purposes. He was able to find the RFID
card from a balcony 30 stories up at the Riviera Hotel in a demo for reporters
during Defcon. But his hardware blew after he attempted to boost the signal, so
he was unable to show the full tag-reading step as a Defcon volunteer held up
the tag from the road below. “I’ve read it from 217 feet,” he said, but his
homemade RFID-reading system, which included two large antennas, ham radio
equipment, software radio peripheral, and a slimmed down Linux-based laptop, is
capable of reading the EPC Class 1 Gen2 RFID cards at much greater distances.
The RFID technology is not encrypted, he notes, nor does it contain any access
control features. Among the information that could be read from the tags, he
said, is the person’s name and state of residence via a unique identification
number used in the tags. The tag’s prefix identifies the user by his home
state, information that could be used to scam tourists. And tag-reading could
be used by bad guys for reconnaissance prior to robberies or other crimes in a
neighborhood.
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