I've talked about RFID tags in the new passports and some states' new drivers licenses and how they will be able to broadcast your data to identity thieves. I thought that would be a problem in the future. Apparently, the future is now. Johns Hopkins University and RSA Laboratories have done some tests on Mobil Speedpasses and car keys with RFID chips in them. They found that they were extremely easy to hack - get the information out - and clone. The security is very weak.
Undoubtedly, passports and drivers licenses will have stronger security - we hope - but that only means it will probably take a little longer for thieves and terrorists to learn how to break the security and clone the IDs. And remember, they broadcast your information, so the thieves don't need to touch you or your keys or cards or passports - they just have to be in the same area as you are. They transmit all the time. You won't even know anything has happened.
So far, the only way to protect your RFID keys, passports and drivers licenses ... is to wrap them in aluminum foil until you need to use them. :-)
I feel more secure - how about you?
With just "a few hundred dollars worth of equipment," Rubin says his team was able to wirelessly interact with car keys and payment tags at close range, and obtain enough information to crack their security system. They could then create a clone of the device, he says. This clone would allow someone to purchase gas on a victim's key-tag or disable a car's alarm system, but would not allow you to unlock a car's doors, Rubin says.
The chips tested during the study were more advanced than those that exist in older cars, Rubin says. "The one that we broke is the latest and greatest," he says, adding that older cars have weaker security systems that could be easier to hack into.
Read more: PCWorld.com - Does Your Car Key Pose a Security Risk?