Brave new world… of pickpocketers?

Randomness — By on February 5, 2009 12:30 pm

Here at technewsmadesimple.com, we try our best to bring you news from the world of technology without biases or slant.  Or at least, I try not to offer too much opinion in my stories.  But sometime, you come across something so ridiculous (and downright scary), that reporting on it is impossible to accomplish without having a personal stake.  After the jump, you’ll find one of those stories.

This past Monday, Gizmodo brought us the absolutely terrifying news of a San Francisco man who decided to prove that RFID (Radio Frequency Identification)  tags in United States passports are a security risk.

The US Government recently began including RFID tags with personal information (Name, Address, Social Security numbers, etc.) in passports to speed up the process of traveling abroad.  Instead of having a plodding customs official behind a glass wall try to verify your passport for twenty minutes, you can (theoretically) just wave a magic wand over the passport, then verify the photo, and you’re good to go.

Problem is… RFID tags aren’t secure.  In fact, they’re about as far from secure as any technology can be.  For the most part, they’re open.  And the video on Gizmodo’s page shows us how one man drove around downtown San Francisco – downtown!  Not even the airport! – and was able to snag RFID information off of two different passports.  His equipment costs?  $250 for an RFID reader and an antenna, plus the cost of gas.

Now, imagine if this were someone trying to do harm to others in this country rather than just a hippie out to make a point?  For $250, anyone can drive around town and steal your personal information right out of your back pocket.  Scary thought, indeed.

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