Bruce Sterling

Arphid Watch: Proximity Badge Flap

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/02/28/black_hat_rfid_demo_pulled/

(((I know I'm just adding to these guys' avalanche of free publicity over their crack of RFID badges, but that seems to be all part of the game these days. It's like the arphid biz is moving from frontier to decadence without ever managing to establish a civilization.)))

Link: IOActive.

IOACTIVE WITHDRAWS BLACKHAT PRESENTATION; ACLU WILL PRESENT

As an active member of the information security community, IOActive is committed to protecting organizations and the public against technical threats. For example, IOActive was one of the early private sector companies to offer volunteer security services to the FBI in performing steganographic analysis of data traffic immediately after 9/11. IOActive has also donated well over $250,000 dollars worth of services to non-profit organizations and universities.

As part of ongoing research into the efficacy of various security technologies, IOActive began exploring RFID technology from a security perspective. In particular, we became interested in the application of the technology in proximity badges commonly used to control physical access to buildings and data centers.

Since IOActive's offices are located in a building that uses this proximity badge technology, and also houses components of the nation's critical infrastructure, IOActive launched a research and development effort to help us better understand the exposures and vulnerabilities related to this technology.

(((So IOActive went up on stage at BlackHat and delivered a lecture anyway... only one with maximum embarrassment potential for the straights... gosh, this cornball drama is priceless:)))
http://weblog.infoworld.com/techwatch/archives/010486.html

(((Stanford Law School really putting the boot in here, ow ow ow:)))
https://www.wired.com/news/columns/0,72819-0.html?tw=wn_technology_2

And more:
http://blogs.zdnet.com/security/?p=103

(((Listen to that echo chamber rumble! A modern tech scandal is an awesome swarming thing like a mob of bees... headless... implacable...
comes in from every corner of the compass... good thing they bore easily.)))