RFID

The Oystercard is a electronic debit card that has all but replaced tickets on the London tube and bus transport systems. It allows users to put money on the card and discounts this credit as the card is used to enter and exit the underground and buses. The system is fast and unobtrusive and almost everyone who uses London public transport has one. Everyday millions of pounds are being put on these cards and taken of again as Londoners move about their city. The security mechanisms that are supposed to be keeping these millions (your money ultimately!) safe have now been shown to be, frankly, utter crap.

What experts foresaw last December and the Dutch research institute TNO denies was possible in their recent report has been done. The deepest level of data-encryption on the NXP Mifare RFID chip has been hacked. Cash from cards can now be copied to other cards through cloning and that makes this system utterly unsuitable for serious applications involving real people and real money.