Those little chips known as RFID are fast becoming part of our world. For those who don’t know what RFID is, you’re probably still carrying one. RFID is Radio Frequency Identification Device, and they are small chips that transmit radio waves.
Many credit cards now have them as part of their makeup. It speeds up the time that your transaction takes to be completed. These little guys don’t do a single thing until a card reader askes them to work. Most people don’t know it but when you walk into a store like Walmart or a larger department store with the two bars that you pass between, those are readers of RFID. They send out a signal that gets your card to stand up and take note.
Likewise gas pumps have RFID readers on the pumps so you can pay your bill from there. Mastercard and Visa have gotten into the act as well, offering cards with chips to let you swipe them or hold them up and actually get a reading without touching your card to the reader.
The up side of all this grand technology is that it saves you time and money. The down side is that your identity is fairly easy to steal. Several cases of RFID identity theft have already taken place and the technology isn’t all that old yet.
With your new passport containing RFID technology, so you feel secure? If so then you’re not on board with the reality of things.RFID is an insecure technology that is being touted by the US Government as a means to stay secure? If it all sounds a little shaky to you, bear in mind who claimed to have invented the internet and you’ll understand the techno-savvy that some of our governmental geniuses are bringing to the table.
The Federal government got a taste of how silly RFID technology really is and how easily that it can be compromised at DEFCON in 2009.
Having attended DEFCON I was personally pleased that this display of what could happen took place. Fortunately at DEFCON, the goal isn’t crime it’s making you aware. It could just as easily be to remove your documents.. For some really interesting information about RFID theft and DEFCON, take a read of the article over on ZDNET and find out what your government is all it’s infinite wisdom thinks is protecting you.
http://blogs.zdnet.com/storage/?p=565&tag=col1;post-713
According to some of the techno-savvy, RFID is simply a technology that has glaring security holes that organized groups are simply waiting to exploit.
Adam Laurie who researches the techno-idiocy and is the author of the RFIDiot (RFID I/O tool) says that ” It takes a few milliseconds to read and, depending on what equipment I’ve got, doing the cloning can take a minute. I could literally do it on the fly.”
Chris Paget did a lovely demonstration of a nicely wired doorframe that can collect the data from the RFID chips as people step through his doorway. Fairly nice setup if you know how to build it.
To some extent an RFID wallet will shield you from the theft of your identity. It won’t completely guarantee that you’ve been protected since there are other measures to take your identity but those are not, as an RFID reader is, able to be made just by looking up how to build an RFID reader on the internet.
For those of us who are using our credit cards and don’t want someone else borrowing out identity, getting an RFID wallet or bag as a first line of defense might be a good move. There are ways to get around them, as your card or passport is being used, so that isn’t entirely protecting you, but at least you’ve got a shot.
