RFID Tags Vulnerable To Viruses

March 17, 2006: Researchers at Amsterdam's Free University have discovered a way to infect RFID tags with a computer virus, warning RFID manufacturers that more must be done to secure the technology.

While the tags have very limited abilities, the researchers demonstrated how they can be used in a system attack by using a virus of only 127 characters to corrupt a database holding stored RFID product information.

“RFIDs with embedded computers are susceptible to basically all the same threats any other computers are. Unfortunately.” says Mikko Hypponen, chief research officer at F-Secure anti-virus.

The researchers say the demonstration is a wake-up call to RFID manufacturers. “We ask the RFID industry to design systems that are secure” says Andrew Tanenbaum, one of the Computer Science Department researchers.

RFID tags are essentially barcode replacements that include a small processor, some memory and a radio. They can be used to scan a whole shopping trolley of groceries instantly, track mail, for motorway toll tags or in warehouse inventory systems to name but a few examples.

Prices for the tags are currently too high for individual items to be labelled. However, prices are dropping rapidly and the benefits of individual tagging are increasing. Now that they are proven to be vulnerable, the risk to systems using RFID technology will also increase.

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