4 ms·

Passport RFIDs cloned wholesale by $250 eBay auction spree

20 points by atestu 18y ago

bprater 18y ago
Might be good enough reason to have RF-shielded "holders" for your passport or any other RFID nuggets you have in your purse or wallet.
- weegee 18y ago
  that will make a very thick wallet. why not just refuse to carry such things? if enough of us say no, they can't force us to use them. I will not carry anything with an RFID chip in it if it can be read from 30 feet away.
- josefresco 18y ago
  Ask and ye shall receive ... http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/security/8cdd/ http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/security/8cdd/ You can also make your own.
lpgauth 18y ago
So I'm looking on ebay for a Symbol XR400 RFID and the lowest price is 1000$. That 250$ price tag is little exaggerated.
- TrevorJ 18y ago
  Perhaps demand has spiked since this information has been made public?
  - josefresco 18y ago
    Maybe; http://www.google.com/trends?q=XR400&ctab=436060544&geo=all&date=ytd http://www.google.com/trends?q=XR400&ctab=436060544&... http://www.google.com/trends?q=rfid+reader&ctab=436060544&geo=all&date=ytd http://www.google.com/trends?q=rfid+reader&ctab=43606054...
- josefresco 18y ago
  Dude totally, and a Volva XC90 runs like $37000, totally a misleading premise.
- catch23 18y ago
  So only the rich identity thieves will be able to duplicate your identity. The poor thieves with less than $1000 will have to wait for the price to drop.
TrevorJ 18y ago
As a person who does travel out of country from time to time for work, I've hated the idea of RFID tags in passports from day one. There are many parts of the world where broadcasting a signal that says "Hey, I'm an American!" to anybody with a 50-dollar RFID reader is a horrible and downright dangerous idea. Security issues aside, gross invasion of privacy issues abound. Yes, I know that companies already know everything I buy with a credit card but I'd hate to get to a point where somebody simply has to drive a truck down my street and scan my house to see what products I've purchased.
whalliburton 18y ago
Microwave it.
- jacquesm 18y ago
  Passports are usually considered property of the country that issues them and some countries have pretty strict laws on modifying passports in any way, including partial destruction.
  - eru 18y ago
    It was an accident..
    - jacquesm 18y ago
      hehe, ok, in that case you get a free pass :)
aneesh 18y ago
At least they're just storing a primary key on the RFID tag, as opposed to the actual data. The Boston subway actually stored value on the cards, and some MIT kids exploited that this summer -- (http://www-tech.mit.edu/V128/N30/subway/Defcon_Presentation.pdf http://www-tech.mit.edu/V128/N30/subway/Defcon_Presentation....).

20 points by atestu 18y ago

Might be good enough reason to have RF-shielded "holders" for your passport or any other RFID nuggets you have in your purse or wallet.

weegee 18y ago
that will make a very thick wallet. why not just refuse to carry such things? if enough of us say no, they can't force us to use them. I will not carry anything with an RFID chip in it if it can be read from 30 feet away.
josefresco 18y ago
Ask and ye shall receive ... http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/security/8cdd/ http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/security/8cdd/ You can also make your own.

lpgauth 18y ago

So I'm looking on ebay for a Symbol XR400 RFID and the lowest price is 1000$. That 250$ price tag is little exaggerated.

TrevorJ 18y ago
Perhaps demand has spiked since this information has been made public?
- josefresco 18y ago
  Maybe; http://www.google.com/trends?q=XR400&ctab=436060544&geo=all&date=ytd http://www.google.com/trends?q=XR400&ctab=436060544&... http://www.google.com/trends?q=rfid+reader&ctab=436060544&geo=all&date=ytd http://www.google.com/trends?q=rfid+reader&ctab=43606054...
josefresco 18y ago
Dude totally, and a Volva XC90 runs like $37000, totally a misleading premise.
catch23 18y ago
So only the rich identity thieves will be able to duplicate your identity. The poor thieves with less than $1000 will have to wait for the price to drop.

TrevorJ 18y ago

As a person who does travel out of country from time to time for work, I've hated the idea of RFID tags in passports from day one. There are many parts of the world where broadcasting a signal that says "Hey, I'm an American!" to anybody with a 50-dollar RFID reader is a horrible and downright dangerous idea. Security issues aside, gross invasion of privacy issues abound. Yes, I know that companies already know everything I buy with a credit card but I'd hate to get to a point where somebody simply has to drive a truck down my street and scan my house to see what products I've purchased.

whalliburton 18y ago

Microwave it.

jacquesm 18y ago
Passports are usually considered property of the country that issues them and some countries have pretty strict laws on modifying passports in any way, including partial destruction.
- eru 18y ago
  It was an accident..
  - jacquesm 18y ago
    hehe, ok, in that case you get a free pass :)

aneesh 18y ago

At least they're just storing a primary key on the RFID tag, as opposed to the actual data. The Boston subway actually stored value on the cards, and some MIT kids exploited that this summer -- (http://www-tech.mit.edu/V128/N30/subway/Defcon_Presentation.pdf http://www-tech.mit.edu/V128/N30/subway/Defcon_Presentation....).