SECURE SYMMETRIC

AUTHENTICATION FOR
RFID TAGS

Er.SREEKALA K S
SNEHA P ELIAS
ASSISSTANT PROFESSOR
Dept. of Electronics and
Communication Department of Electronics
and Communication
SAINTGITS COLLEGE OF
ENGINEERING SAINTGITS COLLEGE
OF ENGINEERING
[email protected]
KOTTAYAM-KERALA

Abstract: Day by day the importance of

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) I. INTRODUCTION:
systems increasing for its powerful
capabilities in automatic identification, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) is
localization and access control of the Associate in Nursing rising technology.
objects .RFID system consists of an antenna The most plan behind it's to connect a thus
and a transceiver, which reads the radio referred to as RFID tag to each object
frequency and transfers the information to a during a specific atmosphere and provides
processing device (reader) and a a digital identity to any or all these objects.
transponder, or RF tag. But the main Associate in Nursing RFID tag may be a
problem behind RFID systems are they are tiny microchip, with Associate in nursing
susceptible to security attacks. Some of the antenna, holding a novel ID and alternative
main concerns are unwanted consumer info which might be sent over frequency.
tracking, tag forgery and unauthorized
The data are often mechanically browse
access to tag’s memory content .The
and registered by RFID readers. The
technique of authentication can solve all the
information received by the RFID reader
above mentioned problems. So that an
unauthorized reader cannot get any are often after processed by a back-end.
information about tags which are currently It is used for inventory control or timing
in the field. Thus the secret information sporting events. RFID is not a replacement
stored in the tag is communicated in a for barcoding, but a complement for
secure way. distant reading of codes. The technology is
used for automatically identifying a
Keyword: RFID, authentication person, a package or an item. To do this, it
relies on RFID tags. These are
small transponders(combined radio receiv
er and transmitter) that will transmit
identity information over a short distance, is not a very high data rate system, it is
when asked. The other piece to make use sufficient for most data monitoring
of RFID tags is an RFID tag reader. applications.
An RFID tag is an object that can be  Data on an RFID tag can be altered
applied to or incorporated into a product, repeatedly.
animal, or person for the purpose of
 RFID technology can be used with
identification and tracking using radio
existing systems including bar codes
waves. Some tags can be read from several
and Wi-Fi
meters away and beyond the line of sight
of the reader. Most tags carry a plain text As a result, RFID technology is being used
inscription and a barcode as complements increasingly as organisations need
for direct reading and for cases of any automatic methods of tracking assets and
failure of radio frequency electronics. collecting data.
Most RFID tags contain at least two parts.
III. COMPONENTS OF RFID
One is an integrated circuit for storing and
processing information, modulating and RFID technology is a simple method of
de-modulating a radio-frequency (RF) exchanging data between two entities
signal, and other specialized functions. namely a reader/ writer and a tag. This
The second is an antenna for receiving and communication allows information about
transmitting the signal. the tag or the element carrying the tag to
be determined and in this way it enables
processes to be managed more easily.
II. RFID TECHNOLOGY
OVERVIEW An RFID system comprises a number of
elements:
RFID technology provides many benefits
for organisations to use the system. RFID  RFID reader / writer: The reader
provide an easy way in which data can be write is used to communicate with the
collected and assets tracked: tags that may pass within range. The
RFID reader writer will normally be
 RFID technology provides a low cost located in a fixed position and will be
form of data collection and asset used to interrogate an RFID tag.
management. Dependent upon the application and the
 RFID technology is widely used and format of the system and the RFID
therefore the economies of scale can be reader / writer, data may also be written
utilised to advantage. to the RFID tag
 RFID tag: RFID tags may also be
 RFID technology enables data
called RFID transponders and are
collection in environments that are
typically located on items that are
unsuitable for workers as RFID tags
mobile. They are small and generally
can provide data in harsh environments.
cheap so that they can be attached to
 RFID is able to provide many reads and low cost (or high cost) items that need
write functions per second, although it to have information associated with
 them. They are also generally authentication exist. For example, you
considered as being disposable. The might use a four or six-digit passcode to
RFID tag contains data that is relayed unlock your phone. A single password
may be required to log on to your laptop or
to the reader, and in some systems it
work computer. Every time you check or
may also be possible to update the data send email, the mail server verifies your
within the tag to indicate that the tag identity by matching your email address
and hence the item has undergone a with the correct password. This
specific stage in a process, etc. information is often saved by your web
 RFID application software: Like all browser or email program so you do not
systems these days, RFID systems need have to enter it each time.
Biometrics may also be used for
application software to run the overall
authentication. For example,
system. With many systems there will many smartphones have a fingerprint
be a number of different reader / writers sensor that allows you to unlock your phone
and the data to and from these needs to with a simple tap of your thumb or finger.
be coordinated and analysed. Some facilities have retinal scanners, which
Application software will be required require an eye scan to allow authorized
for these. individuals to access secure areas. Apple's
Face ID (introduced with the iPhone X)
Although each RFID system will vary
authenticates users by facial recognition.
according to its requirements, these are the
main elements which can be found.

RFID, radio frequency identification V. WHY IS AUTHENTICATION

technology is used in a huge number of TECHNIQUE REQUIRED?
areas and it has become a real industry So here, we propose authentication
standard for many applications where asset protocols for RFID systems. These
protocols allow protecting high-value
tracking and location is required. It use has
goods against adversary attackers.
taken off in shops and retail outlets, but Additionally, we show that these protocols
this is only a small part of its use. Being are feasible for nowadays restriction
low cost, simple and easy to use, it has concerning data rates and compliance to
quietly become a real success. existing standards as well as the
requirements concerning chip area and
power consumption. With authentication
IV.AUTHENTICATION OF we mean a method to provide a proof for a
RFID TAGS claimed identity. This proof is based on a
secret stored within the authenticating part
In computing, authentication is the process of the system. As long as the secret
of verifying the identity of a person or information stays secret and the used
device. A common example is entering protocol does not leak sensitive
a username and password when you log in information, an attacker cannot forge a tag.
to a website. Entering the A communication system providing
correct login information lets the website authentication can reject access (to
know 1) who you are and 2) that it is information, entry, etc.) to non-authorized
actually you accessing the website. parties. To keep the authentication secure,
While a username/password combination it is necessary that an attacker does not
is a common way to authenticate your gain information about the secret by
identity, many other types of listening passively to successful
authentications. To fulfil this requirement concerns, most common privacy
for strong authentication, it's necessary to concern, but also other security
use cryptographically strong computation related issues. The paper presented
Under "cryptographically strong" in this possible scenarios how privacy can
context we understand that it must be be compromised by RFID tags but
computationally infeasible with current also several solutions to protect
computing systems to derive the secret key against it. Since RFID technology
data from an unlimited number of known becomes more and more common,
input and output message pairs. attacks against the system itself start
to appear. The main result so far is
VI. APPLICATIONS OF RFID that, secure symmetric
authentication is feasible for current
RFID systems can be used in a variety of RFID technology without
ways. There are many RFID applications significant additional costs. RFID
which have gained popularity over the past with authentication is not only
years: necessary to use RFID technology
in security relevant applications but
 Store product identification - RFID also if the tag contain personal data.
technology can be used within shops and It is important to realize that there
stores as a form of alert for goods that will be no universally right solution
have / have not been paid for. even for similar application with in
 Asset tracking - RFID systems can the same industry. Every RFID each
monitor when RFID tags pass given company adopts will be unique.
points and in this way track the assets.
 Airline baggage identification - airlines VIII. REFERENCES
need to monitor where baggage is and
route it to the required destination. RFID [1] M. Feldhofer, S. Dominikus, and J.
tags can be attached to the bags to Wolkerstorfer. Strong Authentication for
automate baggage routing RFID Systems using the AES Algorithm. In
Conference of Cryptographic Hardware
 Parts identification - Data can be written and Embedded Systems, 2004.
to an RFID tags defining the identity of Proceedings. Pages 357-370. Springer
a part. This can then be used within a 2004.
manufacturing, stock holding or other
process to identify and locate parts. [2] M. Feldhofer. An Authentication
Protocol in a Security Layer for RFID
VII. CONCLUSION Smart Tags. In the 12th IEEE
MediterraneanElectrotechnical Conference
RFID technology has a big potential – MELECON 2004. IEEEProceedings.
to become ubiquitous in the near Pages 759-762, May 2004
future. Today it is already
successfully used in supply chain [3] EC ARTICLE 29 Data Protection
management to track pallets of Working Party. Working document on data
items. Tracking allows better protection issues related to
coordination and control in the RFIDtechnology. Available online at:
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tagging to increase the control even
further. However, that also creates