Security and Privacy Risks of Embedded RFID in Everyday Things: the e-Passport and Beyond

Abstract

New applications for Radio Frequency Identifi- cation (RFID) technology include embedding transponders in everyday things used by individuals, such as library books, payment cards, and personal identification cards and documents. While RFID technology has existed for decades, these new applications carry with them substantial new privacy and security risks for individuals. These risks arise due to a combination of aspects involved in these appli- cations: 1) The transponders are permanently embedded in objects individuals commonly carry with them 2) Static data linkable to an individual is stored on these transponders 3) The objects these transponders are embedded in are used in public places where individuals have limited control over who can access data on the transponder. In 2002, the U.S. Department of State proposed the adoption of an passport, which embedded RFID transponders into U.S. passports for identification and document security purposes. In this paper, we use the U.S. Government's adoption process for the electronic passport as a case study for identifying the privacy and security risks that arise by embedding RFID technology in everyday things. We discuss the reasons why the Department of State did not adequately identify and address these privacy and security risks, even after the government's process mandated a privacy impact assessment. We present recommendations to assist government as well as industry in early identification and resolution of relevant risks posed by RFID technology embedded in everyday things. We show how these risks exists with many new and upcoming applications of embedded RFID in everyday things and how these applications can benefit from the recommendations for a more secure and privacy preserving design. Index Terms— RFID, e-Passport,