Identity Theft News

Researcher clones electronic passports with a scanner, antenna and car

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Chris Paget will demonstrate a new RFID attack he calls "war cloning" that incorporates low-tech hardware with a high success rate for cracking encrypted IDs.

Recently, the researcher used a $250 RFID scanner purchased on eBay and an antenna hidden in his car, DarkReading.com reports. After driving around the Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco, Paget reportedly amassed at least six electronic passports.

While the privacy vulnerabilities of EPC Gen 2 RFID tags have been a known problem and a worry to security officials, researchers have shied away from hacking the wallet-sized passport cards because the scanners were too expensive ($3,000) to justify the attack, according to the article. However, Paget has shown it can be down on a much lower monetary scale.

According to Paget, his technique could be conceivably up to "a couple of miles" and claims he captured the RFID while driving 30 mph, states DarkReading.com.

"My goal is to inform people about the risks with these things and how much impact it could have on your personal privacy and security if you don't keep [these IDs] in a protective wallet or if you carry it on your person," Paget told the news provider.ADNFCR-1765-ID-19006414-ADNFCR

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