Re: Government RFID busted

[Shreyas Zare <shreyas () technitium com>]

Hi,

What can one do with the tag ? just use a compromised RFID reader that
is connected to database and get the details. Also, the reader at
border is accessible to certain people working there, which can be
misused too for gaining unauthorized access.

Regards,

On Wed, Feb 11, 2009 at 2:28 AM, Prodigi Child <prodigi.child () gmail com> wrote:
> What do you mean by the data is not encrypted? Specifically what data are
> you talking about? According to the video it looks like all he got was a
> 'tag.'
>
> According to the DHS Fact Sheet
> (http://www.dhs.gov/xnews/releases/pr_1161115330477.shtm), "No personal
> information would be transmitted or stored on the vicinity RFID-enabled
> card. The technology will transmit only a number between the card and the
> reader which will be matched against a DHS database."
>
> So this war driver just for the number that is transmitted between the card
> and the reader.
>
> According to the State Department
> (http://travel.state.gov/passport/ppt_card/ppt_card_3921.html), "There will
> be no personal information written to the RFID chip."
>
> If the DHS and State Department are not lying, then to fully 'clone' a
> passport card wouldn't you still need physical access to it (to get all of
> the personal information)?
>
> So I repeat (and re-word) my original question. How was this useful? If all
> he got was an identifier for the passport card, and there is no personal
> information on it, what is the threat? Why should I care if someone can read
> my passport card's tag?
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: listbounce () securityfocus com [mailto:listbounce () securityfocus com] On
> Behalf Of Mythic Glyph
> Sent: Thursday, February 05, 2009 1:52 PM
> To: pen-test () securityfocus com
> Subject: RE: Government RFID busted
>
> Yes, it's a truism that an RFID scanner can read data from RFID chips, but
> that was not the point of the video. Rather, the video was created to alert
> the public to the fact that - contrary to popular belief - the information
> in the RFID could be read easily, cheaply, and discretely by almost anyone
> at any time. I was personally surprised to learn that the data was not
> encrypted at all...
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: listbounce () securityfocus com [mailto:listbounce () securityfocus com] On
> Behalf Of Prodigi Child
> Sent: Wednesday, February 04, 2009 2:35 AM
> To: 'Al Rivas'; pen-test () securityfocus com
> Subject: RE: Government RFID busted
>
> I agree that having RFID chips in IDs is a bad idea (Imagine a terrorist in
> Beirut checking his scanner "Hmm 5 Americans in the area.. let's go
> hunting!") but is a 'war drive' to read the RFID tags from the passports
> really useful? It's one of those "duh" things like a study trying to
> determine if bears **** in the woods.
>
> I mean, they are doing what they are supposed to do in the first place,
> which is be read by RFID scanners, albeit from further away than what they
> claimed was possible.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: listbounce () securityfocus com [mailto:listbounce () securityfocus com] On
> Behalf Of Al Rivas
> Sent: Monday, February 02, 2009 10:58 AM
> To: pen-test () securityfocus com
> Subject: Government RFID busted
>
> So the U.S. government has had this idea to tag our passports, drivers
> licenses etc, with RFID.  Dan Goodin, has created this video showing why
> this is not a good idea.  The problem is that technology is growing in
> breadth and complexity faster than bureaucrats can wrap their minds around
> it.  The vast majority of the decision makers on these programs can't spell
> computer and have only slight exposure to . "the internets".
>
> Someone presents them with a technology, (I'd bet the farm that the
> presenter sells that particular technology), and the bureaucratic bean
> counter says "Whoopee !  And how much is my cut so I can vote for this ?"
>
> Everyone makes money, and America is safer, they have the PowerPoint Slides
> that say so.
>
> Here's an excerpt from the article "Using inexpensive off-the-shelf
> components, an information security expert has built a mobile platform that
> can clone large numbers of the unique electronic identifiers used in US
> passport cards and next generation drivers licenses."
>
> Here's Dan's excellent video showing how he did it :
>
> http://www.engadget.com/2009/02/02/video-hacker-war-drives-san-francisco-clo
> ning-rfid-passports/
>
>
> Excerpt from Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative - the project injecting
> RFID into government docs.
> "Each day, an average of 1.1 million pedestrians and passengers enter the
> United States for business or pleasure. In order to facilitate cross-border
> travel for U.S. citizens while enhancing the security of our citizens and
> travelers, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) proposes to expand the
> use of vicinity radio frequency identification (RFID) technology at land
> border ports of entry. The use of this technology will be a key component of
> the PASS System (People, Access Security Service), announced in January 2006
> by Secretaries Rice and Chertoff as part of their Joint Vision -"Secure
> Borders and Open Doors in the Information Age.""



--
("Computers have a strange habit of doing what you say, not what you
mean." - SANS Top 25 Most Dangerous Programming Errors)

Shreyas Zare
Co-Founder, Technitium
eMail: shreyas () technitium com

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