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Did Major Credit Card Companies Shut Down Investigation
Into RFID security?
Discovery Channel backed down on airing RFID episode of
Mythbusters
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The Discovery Channel, in conjunction with top officials for the
major credit card companies, shut down an episode of the popular
sci-tech series Mythbusters which was due to contain
a segment showing how easily RFID technology can be hacked and
tracked, according to the co-host.
Adam Savage, co-host of the popular TV show which
uses scientific method to test the validity of rumors, urban legends,
myths and news stories in popular culture, revealed the details
behind the RFID episode that never was in a question and answer
session at the annual Hackers On Planet Earth (HOPE)
conference this past July.
Savage described how the credit card giants used
their power to force the Discovery Channel to steer clear of the
issue:
"It's not going to happen... I'm not sure how
much of the story I'm allowed to tell but I'll tell you what I
know." Savage told an attentive audience.
"We were gonna do RFID, and on several levels,
how hackable, how reliable, how trackable etc etc, and we called
up Texas Instruments and the arranged a conference call..."
"Then Texas Instruments comes on, along with
chief legal council for American Express, Visa, Discover, and
everbody else. I get chills just as I describe it... They absolutely
made it clear to Discovery that they were not going to air this
episode talking about how hackable this stuff was and Discovery
backed way down, being a large corporation that depends upon the
revenue of the advertisers." Savage stated.
"It is on Discovery's radar but they won't
let us go near it." he concluded.
The question begins at 44.50 mins into the video
below:
(Article continues below)
A recent CNet
article contained a response from Texas Instruments,
major manufacturers of RFID:
TI said lawyers were hardly to blame for MythBusters
dropping the RFID episode.
"In June 2007, MythBusters was interested in pursuing
some great myth-busting ideas for RFID. While in pursuit, they
contacted Texas Instruments' RFID Systems, who is a pioneer
of RFID and contactless technology, for technical help and understanding
of RFID in the contactless payments space," TI spokesperson
Cindy Huff said. "Some of the information that was needed
to pursue the program required further support from the contactless
payment companies as they construct their own proprietary systems
for security to protect their customers. To move the process
along, Texas Instruments coordinated a conversation with Smart
Card Alliance (SCA) who invited MasterCard and Visa, on contactless
payments to help MythBusters get the right information. Of the
handful of people on the call, there were mostly product managers
and only one contactless payment company's legal counsel member.
Technical questions were asked and answered and we were to wait
for MythBusters to let us know when they were planning on showing
the segment. A few weeks later, Texas Instruments was told by
MythBusters that the storyline had changed and they were pursuing
a different angle which did not require our help."
Clearly, TI's memory of what happened is at odds with that
of Savage.
RFID technology, supposedly designed to be foolproof against
identity theft and now used in credit cards, driving licenses
and passports, has been heavily criticized for being easy
to manipulate and clone.
Critics have charged that the technology has been designed with
security back doors specifically for the purpose of manipulation
and tracking.
RFID manufacturers, as well as governments and companies that
have adopted the technology, have said that there is no credible
evidence that the technology is hackable.
In any case, it seems clear that some do not want the public
knowing one way or another.
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