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Dutch University sued for discovering RFID flaws

by on14 July 2008

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No one should know


A Dutch university is being sued to prevent it releasing details about security flaws found in RFID chips made by NXP Semiconductors.

The chips are used in more than two billion smart cards and can open open doors in corporate and government buildings and to board public transportation systems. Boffins at Radboud University Nijmegen wanted to publish a paper about the bugs it found in Classic, an RFID chip manufactured by NXP.

Karsten Nohl, a graduate student who was part of a research group that originally broke the encryption last year, told ComputerWorld the University was all set to present it to the Esorics security conference in Malaga, Spain, in October, when NXP threw its toys out of the pram.

Nohl said that it was crucial that it was published in an academic conference where researchers can work on solutions. He said the court action was designed to keep information away from the security boffins who might actually come up with a fix.

NXP is refusing to comment about its court action, but it is fairly obvious that it would cause a huge security problem for all the clients who use the dodgy chip. This includes all those super secure government buildings which can be now entered through the front door.

More here.
Last modified on 14 July 2008
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