Being aware of the various security risks involved in travelling locally and abroad is very important.
After receiving our first RFID embedded credit card, the first thought that came to mind was to find a Sucrets tin soon as the manufacturer was switching to plastic!
An article on Wired’s Threat Level blog actually came to the rescue:
At the bottom of the article was a link to a company called DIFRwear. They make Faraday Caged (Wikipedia site) wallets and passport cases.
Below is a video of their products in action:
While the distances may seem miniscule when it comes to scanning for the RFID, all it takes is being in a crowded room where someone just happens to have a scanner on them.
We ordered and just received the passport case:
Are we wearing a tin foil hat? Maybe. But, it never hurts to be a little more cautious when it comes to new technologies and how our personal information can be exposed through them.
We like the products, so occasionally we will post a banner on our blog for DIFRwear’s Web site.
Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists
Co-Author: SBS 2008 Blueprint Book
*All Mac on SBS posts will not be written on a Mac until we replace our now missing iMac! (previous blog post)
2 comments:
I've just hit the chips with a hammer in my RFID-issued credit cards. Gave up trying to educate my issuing banks' staff on the danger associated with their RFID implementations. They were all confused when I asked for non-RFID replacements.
I'll stop hitting them once the readers stop accepting non-RFID cards.
Chris,
Not a bad idea. :D
It never ceases to amaze me how folks can just toss products out the door without stopping for a moment to consider all aspects of the product's impact on a user's life.
Philip
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