RFID Cloned at HOPE

At this years HOPE conference in New York, Jonathan Westhues of www.cq.cx demonstrated the ability to clone an RFID chip imbedded in the arm of his colleague. Using a laptop running signal processing software, a standard RFID reader and antenna, Westhues was able to read the ID number from the embedded VeriChip.

“Their (VeriChip’s) website claims that it cannot be counterfeited — that is something that Jonathan and I have shown to be untrue,” Annalee Newitz (colleague).

A “VeriChip” is an implantable, passive Radio Frequency Identification Device (RFID) about the size of a grain of sand that can be used in a variety of applications such as assessing whether somebody has authority to enter a high-security area.

more information can be found at Westhues site : http://cq.cx/verichip.pl