RFID. Radio Frequency Identification. If you’ve heard of this, chances are you’re probably not even sure what RFID is used in, but first just incase you don’t know, this is what RFID is in a nutshell. The bane of shoplifters, Helper of the old and forgetful, vulnerable and bothersome for the end user. That’s right, vulnerable and bothersome, whyso? Well, after some exhaustive studying I’ve discovered that it’s as easy to copy RFID chips as it is to scan and copy a document in a printer. Of course you need the “printer” but once you’ve got that it’s fairly easy to do that even the theives that tend to lock themselves inside of the business they’re robbing could do.

	Today RFID is used inside of nearly everything it seems from tracking items in a store to tracking elderly people with Alzheimers and even Passports. However the dark side of this is that you only need a special reader to read RFID and really nothing more, and that reader can be bought relatively cheap, even as low as eight dollars if you’re after just the reader device for a laptop. Many platforms have encryption in place to deal with would-be copiers and RFID is no exception, however most RFID tags are built to be read and not written, meaning if a manufacturer makes a batch of RFID tags, they were probably all encrypted with the same key. So what does this mean for being secure? Well, companies tend to practice saving money and instead of encrypting the RFID tag they encrypt the connection sent, this practice works against them very well in the credit card sector. That’s right, there are Credit Cards featuring RFID chips, and some manufacturers even decide to not encrypt the card at all in lieu of decrypting from their main offices instead.

	A chinese import website I frequently purchase products from offers a self contained RFID reader and writer, which with the press of a button will read a card, store it in memory, and then write to a blank card a total of $65 USD for the device, and three rewriteable cards. Conveniently for those who want to get out of a store faster than they found a parking space Credit card company, Visa offers a credit card called the “payWave” the informative frequently asked questions guide on their website for this mentions that you have to be within 1-2 inches of the receiver and you must wave your card over it. Sounds fine in theory and totally secure except when you’ve got RFID Readers the size of a deck of cards and wallets without RFID protection meaning that that person who bumped against you in line who was eager to get out might have just copied your credit card.