We're jamming, we're jamming, we hope you like jammin too

[Brian Dunbar]

On May 12, 2004, at 12:47 PM, Major Variola (ret) wrote:

> At 03:09 PM 5/11/04 +0200, Eugen Leitl wrote:
>> The second covers a "hacking the system" concept.  I'd considered
>> something similar myself, though different in approach.  Rather than
>> finding RFID chips and "redistributing" them, why not create
>> programmable RFID broadcasters which could spoof other chips, and
>> distribute these.  The idea being to pollute any RFID detectors with a
>> vast spew of superfluous data.
>
> RFID jamming should be very easy and a quite amusing DoS attack
> on commercial targets.  Easy because its not frequency hopping, low
> power, and relatively low frequency.  Particularly cute would be
> transmitting sex-toy codes intermittently.
>
> ASK any Elmer you happen to see,
> what's the best jamming, RFID..
>
> (With apologies to the tuna industry and those too young to
> know the jingle.  Or to know the RF double meanings.)
>

I remember the tune (grin).  Ah, childhood.

Would RFID jamming really be effective?  RFID scanners work when the 
chip passes the scanner - when a pallet passes a door for instance -  
at which point the scanner 'knows' that chips Abe, Bill, Charlie passed 
point Delta.  To get the jammer to work it would have to be run past 
the scanner - I don't see how an RFID jammer planted in (say) the 
changing room at Wal-Mart would be an effective DoS?

It's possible I'm ill-informed or just unclear on the concept.

~brian