The topic of RFID security has always attracted interest. There have been numerous tales over the last few years of RFID hacking and new security approaches, all of which have added to RFID's mystique.
Now, work by the influential BRIDGE (Building Radio frequency IDentification solutions for the Global Environment) project is tackling the security issue through the Tag Security Research Group (SRG) and has produced a White Paper tackling the issue of tag security detailing how a new landscape for the use of more secure tags compliant with EPCglobal's Gen 2 protocol might evolve.
In its conclusions the group says the objective of the White Paper was to review the current RFID tag security activities and to investigate future requirements. It suggests the ongoing purpose and focus of the SRG should be to build security functionality into tags and readers to enable applications to have a secure platform that can be used to implement their specific security functions and commands.
Never too far away from RFID security issues are privacy concerns, and the White Paper suggests that, as more businesses begin to rely on EPC-based events to manage and share critical supply chain processes, effective solutions must be in place to guarantee control of confidential data and system accountability.
The reality is that the sharing of information can increase productivity, but at the same time, such sharing raises questions about the use and misuse of information by third parties once information has been disclosed.
The White Paper considers one of the main success stories emanating from the SRG work to be the groundbreaking development done to satisfy privacy requirements by 'stunning' an RFID tag as it leaves a store so that it cannot be read outside the store environment, but could still be reactivated if/when the item and tag are returned to the retailer. This protects the consumer's privacy while at the same time solving the retailer's consistent and thorny problem of how to manage product returns.
