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.
Related News:
Password security a tall order for many web users - 1.22.2010
A recently released study from tech researcher Imperva showed that the most popular password among users whose accounts were compromised in the recent RockYou data breach was as follows: 123456.
Facebook fixes "wrong friends list" mobile network security glitch - 1.22.2010
CNET reports that social media network Facebook has repaired a problem in the mobile version of its service that caused some mobile users to have full access to the friends lists of unassociated users.
Automated phishing scam hits bank customers - 1.14.2010
Phishing attacks do not target victims exclusively via email, experts say, pointing to a recent rash of automated phone calls that attempted to convince victims to give up sensitive banking information.
Scammers ride aftershocks of Haiti catastrophe - 1.14.2010
The Federal Bureau of Investigation has issued a warning to those who want to contribute to earthquake relief efforts in Haiti, saying that cyber criminals and other types of scam artists are trying to take advantage of an outpouring of humanitarian support.
Banking Trojans finding new vector with fake Outlook alerts - 1.11.2010
A spurious alert purporting to come from Microsoft Outlook has cropped up in recent weeks, according to a maker of email filtering software.
|
