
Passport RFIDs cloned wholesale by $250 eBay auction spree - atestu
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/02/02/low_cost_rfid_cloner/
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TrevorJ
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.

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bprater
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.

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josefresco
Ask and ye shall receive ...

<http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/security/8cdd/>

You can also make your own.

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aneesh
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....](http://www-
tech.mit.edu/V128/N30/subway/Defcon_Presentation.pdf)).

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

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TrevorJ
Perhaps demand has spiked since this information has been made public?

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josefresco
Maybe;
[http://www.google.com/trends?q=XR400&ctab=436060544&...](http://www.google.com/trends?q=XR400&ctab=436060544&geo=all&date=ytd)

[http://www.google.com/trends?q=rfid+reader&ctab=43606054...](http://www.google.com/trends?q=rfid+reader&ctab=436060544&geo=all&date=ytd)

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whalliburton
Microwave it.

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jacquesm
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.

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eru
It was an accident..

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jacquesm
hehe, ok, in that case you get a free pass :)

