Security Aspects and Prospective Applications of RFID Systems

120 Pages·2005·2.05 MB·English

Federal Office for Information Security
Security Aspects and Prospective Applications
of RFID Systems
The present study was prepared for, and in cooperation with, the German Federal Office for
Information Security (BSI) in an interdisciplinary collaborative arrangement between IZT —
Institute for Futures Studies and Technology Assessment and the Swiss Federal Laboratories
for Materials Testing and Research (EMPA).
The expert survey upon which this study is based was carried out in the summer of 2004.
The present study reflects exclusively the opinions of the experts who worked on it, the ones
who were surveyed and the literature referred to. Any trademarks, product names or product
illustrations or logos are being shown only to identify the products, and may be registered
trademarks of the respective manufacturers. Trademarks, registered trademarks and product
names are trademarks or product names of the respective holders.
Authors and Experts
Authors Experts
The following were involved in producing • Klaus Finkenzeller
this study: Fa. Giesecke & Devrient
Forschung & Entwicklung Chipkarten
IZT – Institute for Futures Studies Abteilung Neue Technologien
and Technology Assessment • Christian Flörkemeier
Institut für Pervasive Computing, ETH
• Britta Oertel Zürich
• Michaela Wölk • Dirk Henrici
Fachbereich Informatik,
assisted by: Universität Kaiserslautern
Barbara Debus • Peter Jacob
Volker Handke Eidgenössische Materialprüfungs- und
Mandy Scheermesser Forschungsanstalt, Dübendorf
• Marc Langheinrich
Empa – Swiss Federal Laboratories for Institut für Pervasive Computing,
Materials Testing and Research ETH Zürich
• Gregor Ponert
• Prof. Dr. Lorenz Hilty Leiter der Abteilung Research &
• Andreas Köhler Development, Skidata AG
• Thomas Schoch
assisted by: Intellion AG, St.Gallen
Claudia Som • Moritz Strasser
Thomas Ruddy Institut für Informatik und Gesellschaft,
Universität Freiburg
BSI – Federal Office for • Jens Strücken
Information Security Institut für Informatik und Gesellschaft,
Universität Freiburg
• Harald Kelter • Dr. Frédéric Thiesse
• Markus Ullmann Institut für Technologiemanagement,
• Stefan Wittmann Universität St. Gallen
• Dr. Martin Wölker
COGNID Consulting GmbH
In addition to the experts mentioned above,
we would like to thank the experts who
participated in the empirical online survey.
We would like to extend a special thanks to
Klaus Finkenzeller, who allowed us to use
most of the figures on RFID technology for
the present study.
We gladly refer here to the RFID handbook
that he has written, which holds a wealth of
detailed technical knowledge for interested
persons (http://www.rfid-handbook.de).
1. Preface 9
2. Foreword 10
3. Summary 12
4. Introduction 19
4.1. RFID as a key technology of pervasive computing 19
4.2. The goals, methodological approach and structure of the study 21
5. Basics of RFID technology 24
5.1. Features and versions of RFID systems 24
5.2. Features for distinguishing RFID systems 25
5.2.1. Frequency ranges 25
5.2.2. Storage technology 27
5.2.3. Energy supply to the transponder and data transmission 28
5.2.4. Multiple access procedures and anti-collision procedures 31
6. Classification of RFID systems 34
6.1. General 34
6.2. Classification of RFID systems according to their performance 34
6.2.1. Low-end systems 34
6.2.2. Medium-performance systems 34
6.2.3. High-end systems 34
6.3. Classification of RFID systemsaccording to their range 35
6.4. The classification of the Auto-ID Center 36
7. Threat situation and inventory of common security measures 37
7.1. Overview 37
7.2. Basic types of attack 37
7.3. Types of attack according to their purpose 39
7.4. Digression: Attack on the backend 40
7.5. Threat to the active party 41
7.5.1. Spying out data 41
7.5.2. Feeding in false data (deception) 41
7.5.3. Denial of service 41
7.6. Threat situation for the passive party 42
7.6.1. Threat to data privacy 42
7.6.2. Threat to location privacy 43
7.7. Security precautions 43
7.7.1. Authentication 43
7.7.1.1. Checking the Identity of the tag 43
7.7.1.2. Checking the Identity of the reader 44
7.7.1.3. Strong mutual authentication 45
7.7.2. Encryption 46
7.7.3. Anti-collision protocols that are safe from eavesdropping 46
7.7.3.1. Silent Tree-Walking 47
7.7.3.2. Aloha procedure with temporary IDs 47
7.7.4. Pseudonymization 47
7.7.4.1. Randomized hash-lock 47
7.7.4.2. Chained Hashes 48
7.7.4.3. Procedure by Henrici and Müller 48
7.7.5. Preventing readout 48
7.7.5.1. Use of blocker tags 48
7.7.6. Permanent deactivation 49
7.7.6.1. Kill command 49
7.7.6.2. Field-induced deactivation 49
7.7.7. Transforming fair information practices into RFID protocols 49
7.8. Evaluation of the threat situation and discussion of
the security measures 50
7.8.1. Overall evaluation 50
7.8.2. Evaluation of individual types of attack and discussion of
countermeasures 50
7.8.3. Assessment of the privacy threat and a discussion
of the counter measures 56
7.9. Availability of the security measures 59
8. Areas of RFID Application 62
8.1. Overview of application areas 62
8.2. Identification of objects 62
8.3. Document authentication 68
8.4. Maintenance and repair, recall campaigns 69
8.5. Access and route control 71
8.6. Theft protection and stop-loss strategies 75
8.7. Environmental monitoring and sensor technology 77
8.8. Supply chain management: automation, control
and process control and optimization 78
9. Factors facilitating or inhibiting the use of RFID 84
10. Development perspectives of RFID technology 94
10.1. Making the risks visible in the form of fictive cases 94
10.1.1. Introduction 94
10.1.2. Application area Labelling of Products 94
10.1.3. Application Area Access and Route Control 95
10.2.Expected developments by 2010 97
10.2.1. Note 97
10.2.2. Technology and standardization 97
10.2.3. Market and price development 98
10.2.4. Requirements on information security, data protection
and privacy 98
10.2.5. Social acceptance 102
11. Abbreviations 104
12. Index page 105
13. Bibliography 106
Figure 4-1: Layout and basic functions of RFID systems 20
Figure 4-2: Economic segments of companies that answered 22
Figure 5-1: Worldwide frequency allocations
for radio frequency identification 25
Figure 5-2: Capacitive coupling 28
Figure 5-3: Voltage supply to inductively coupled transponder from energy
of magnetic alternating field produced by reader 29
Figure 5-4: Principle of operation of backscatter transponder 30
Figure 5-5: Chart showing temporal sequences in full duplex, half duplex
and sequential systems. Transmission channel from reader
to transponder is called downlink, reverse direction uplink 31
Figure 5-6: Definition of Traffic Volume G and Flow S in an Aloha system 32
Figure 5-7: Binary search tree 33
Figure 6-1: Classification of RFID systems from low-end to high-end 35
Figure 7-1: Basic types of attack on RFID systems 37
Figure 7-2: Possible architecture of the backend of RFID systems
and relevant types of attack 40
Figure 7-3: Challenge-response procedure for mutual authentication 45
Figure 8-1: Total RFID market in trade in countries of the EU 15 79
Figure 9-1: Strengths and weaknesses of Auto ID technologies
by comparison – Costs 86
Figure 9-2: Strengths and weaknesses of Auto ID technologies
by comparison – Performance 86
Figure 9-3: Strengths and weaknesses of Auto ID technologies
by comparison – Cost-benefit ratio 88
Figure 9-4: Strengths and weaknesses of Auto ID technologies
by comparison – Functional reliability 88
Figure 9-5: Strengths and weaknesses of Auto ID technologies
by comparison – Information security 89
Figure 9-6: Factors inhibiting the wider use
of RFID systems – Technical performance 90
Figure 9-7: Factors inhibiting the wider use of RFID systems –
Insufficient standardization 91
Figure 9-8: Factors inhibiting the wider use of RFID systems – Costs 91
Figure 9-9: Factors inhibiting the wider use of RFID systems –
Consumer concerns 93
Figure 9-10: Factors inhibiting the wider use of RFID systems –
Practical knowledge in process design 93
Figure 10-1: Estimate of when inhibitions will be overcome:
Technical performance 99
Figure 10-2: Estimate of when inhibitions will be overcome:
No or inadequate standardization 99
Figure 10-3: Market development of RFID systems in application areas 101
Figure 10-4: General market development of RFID systems in Germany 101
Table 5-1: Characteristics of RFID technologies 26
Table 7-1: Types of attack and their possible aims 39
Table 7-2: Attacks on RFID systems and the respective countermeasures 51
Table 7-3: Privacy threats due to RFID systems,
and corresponding countermeasures 57
Table 7-4: Availability of security functions such as password protection,
further authenification and encryption on RFID transponders 61
Table 9-1: Characteristics of selected Auto ID systems by comparison 84
8
1. Preface
When one regards the technical potential of dations for policy makers, industry and sci-
modern RFID technology and the risks associ- ence.
ated with them, one realizes that using this
technology is sure to have effects in the most The answers offered in the present study are
diverse areas of IT security and society. intended to comprise a contribution toward
making the discussion about using RFID
Today RFID tags are being used in access-con- technology more objective and to help find
trol facilities combined with a company ID ways to apply technology that satisfy the
card, the European Central Bank is planning dual goals of utility and data protection.
to use them in mini-versions in bank notes to
prevent counterfeiting and public transporta- Bonn, Germany, October 2004
tion authorities would like to affix transpon-
ders to the tickets of their passengers, so as Dr. Udo Helmbrecht
to have a central system of who used which President of the Federal Office for
connection when. Information Security
Preventing counterfeiting or having an easy
way to manage the use of public transporta-
tion are sensible uses of RFID chips. In the
interest of the citizen, RFID technology can
increase security and customer friendliness.
However there is also skepticism concerning
the unobtrusive transmitters, although they
are so hard to see – or perhaps for that very
reason: the current discussion surrounding
the Metro Future Store, in which RFID tags
were to be used, shows that a company that
fails to enlighten its customers early on can
quickly find itself under attack by privacy
and citizen rights organizations.
The reason for the bad feelings is the possi-
bility that the chip could be read without
authorization and without even being
noticed: the content of one´s shopping bag
and purse could become totally transparent.
What conclusions should we draw from
these facts?
Today the new technologies offer enormously
profitable opportunities, as RFID can be used
for many purposes including the entire logis-
tics and warehouse management areas.
What remains to be done is to analyse the
technology with regard to its effects in the
most diverse applications, to describe and
assess the effects of using the technology and 9
to identify the opportunities and risks that
result, in order to provide better recommen-
2. Foreword
One should be careful with words like revolu- effect of the rationalization potential and
tion. However with the development of the new models of work organization on our life
futuristic visions of technology such as perva- and work styles, which were already mobile
sive and ubiquitous computing, we think it is and volatile. Ecologically, they mean the
appropriate to speak of a revolutionary per- ever-present use of technological microsys-
spective on technology. This view is based on tems, which cause us to expect enormous
two reasons: the technology currently unfold- rebound effects and an increase in the dis-
ing as pervasive or ubiquitous computing persion of materials we consider valuable
unites very basic technologies such as the and others we consider ecologically less
use of microprocessors, wireless radio tech- desirable. Against this background it be-
nologies and data transmission through uni- comes one of the most important tasks for
versal networks such as the Internet. Such scientists to discover as early as possible the
inventions are showing up all over today, opportunities, problems and risks. Designing
especially in the areas of manufacturing and technology in a socially compatible manner
goods distribution, product authentication includes promoting interaction among vari-
and animal identification, as well as in areas ous social interest groups and economic and
such as authentication of documents, mainte- political actors, and then seeking compromis-
nance and repair, access and route control, es among them all.
theft prevention and environmental monitor-
ing; the new potential use areas abound. When the movement and use of everyday
things leave data tracks, which escape any
The likelihood that these technologies will control by the user, this can have serious
permeate all areas of our lives results from effects on our understanding of security and
one important property of the basic tech- privacy. Starting with technology assessment
nologies: they raise efficiency with regard to and a constant interaction between science
work, time and space, permitting us to react and society, a public dialogue must take
faster to changes in object parameters. The place with policy-makers, business leaders,
innovation and automation potentials associ- civil society groups and citizens on these
ated with this are strong incentives to have problems. Only in such a public discussion
the technologies implemented immediately process with scientific support can we find
in a competitive international economy. out what desirable goals are to be aimed at
and which technology developments are suit-
Against this background no one can wonder ed to maximize the opportunities and mini-
why automatic identification systems (auto-ID mize the risks.
systems) are prospering in such areas as
those in which progress in productivity can Thus the present study offers a survey of the
be achieved through automation. This central technological developments and eco-
applies especially to Radio Frequency Iden- nomic applications of RFID system. In addi-
tification (RFID) systems, which expand upon tion, it analyses the basically new threats and
the functions and uses of the older automat- looks at conventional security measures.
ic identification solutions such as barcode We would like to thank all authors and
and Optical Character Recognition (OCR). experts who took part in this study for their
RFID can be understood as a central step conscientious and trend-setting work and
towards further integrative technology devel- important findings. We are sure that the
opment in the direction of pervasive and required social dialogue will take valuable
ubiquitous computing. impulses from this study for these important
questions affecting the future of us all.
As always in case of revolutionary technology
10
waves, the opportunities and risks are close
to one another. Socially the risks include the