Every so often, a story will emerge about RFID security, suggesting that hackers can attack RFID tags and replace the original tag with their own, potentially compromising, say, a grocery stores system.
This supposed insecurity has been the subject of a number of papers and articles. Forrester too has weighed in to the debate.
There is still a long way to go before the RFID security questions will go away, not because RFID is necessarily insecure (though many would say it is), but because a 'new' - I use the word in a liberal sense in terms of its potential applications - technology like RFID simply acts like a magnet to security question marks.
Nevertheless there are solutions on the way to prevent any potential problems.Take this key management solution from Tutarus as an example.
Another 'solution' is on the way from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, which also seeks to authenticate the tag and encrypt its data.
Is RFID security an issue organisations should worry about? For now, no. Most organisations are still understanding the technology, or piloting it to see how they can get an ROI. Security is probably one of the last things they're thinking about - and that's how it should be. There are more than enough universities, think-tanks and consortia going down the RFID security route - so let them get on with it.
When real-world - and not hypothetical - RFID insecurities emerge, no doubt we'll hear about them.
Technorati tags: RFID tag security RFID encryption