Re: RFID Flap Silences Security Researchers

["Robert L Bass" <no-sales-spam@bassburglaralarms>]

"Bill Kearney" <wkearney-99@hot-mail-com> wrote in message news:N4KdnbbuWflJC2fYnZ2dnUVZ_q6vnZ2d@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>> There's another reason that thieves don't go
>> around toting key blanks.  They don't open
>> anything.
>
> Not the blanks, duh, that cutting a significantly
> large enough quantity of them to be useful would
> be impractical.  As opposed to the negligible
> difference between one RFID cloned key and
> a billion of them.

Cloning RFID keys isn't as easy as you
might believe.  Besides needing the
equipment and knowledge of its use,
the thief would need to gain possession
of the original or at least find a way to
con its rightful user into bringing the
key within a few inches of the thief's
scanner.

> In a residential setting it's considerably
> less likely.  Thus the uptake of RFID for
> residential settings presents an interesting
> target for greater abuse.

I seriously doubt it.  The would-be cloner
would need to get his device close enough
to scan the RFID key.  If I were the intended
victim, I should think I'd notice him standing
next to my door.

> I'm not arguing one against the other;
> mechanical keys vs RFID.  More that
> implementing things like RFID into a
> residential setting has considerably
> more possible problems than existing
> solutions effectively handle; in a
> *residential* setting...

I understand your point.  I disagree with you
though.

> Thus the silencing of potential risks
> because of the defects in the technology
> IS a troubling problem.  Security through
> obscurity is worthless.

On that point I agree wholeheartedly.  I've
tried to make that point among "security"
people in the past but with limited success.

--

Regards,
Robert L Bass

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