RSA 2005 Cryptographic researchers are working out ways to make RFID technology more palatable to consumers ahead of its expected widespread deployment over the coming years.
RFID tags are small silicon microchips attached to an antenna which emit a unique serial number by radio over short distances. RSA is concerned that information stored on RFID tags could be read by anyone with an RFID reader - data thieves, hackers - or worse.
Such an application could take 10 years to hit the streets, but security researchers need to think of the issues it raises now before standards become "baked in", according to Kaliski.
Traditionally, security systems are based on the premise that a system is trustworthy and it’s up to the user to establish his credentials. With the possibility of rogue RFID readers, this premise no longer holds true and a different approach is needed.
