Invisible Privacy - 03.23.09: How to stop RFID Tracking and Help Avoid Identity Theft
I've been traveling more than usual lately and this does require me to carry a passport for airport security (TSA), a credit card for the hotel (even though I pay cash), and a driver's license for renting a car. Thus, the time had come to get some protection for the RFID chips: [from DIFRWear] an RFID-blocking passport case. My passport goes on the left. On the right are four slots for my single credit card, my AAA card, my driver's license and my business cards.
I use DIFRwear products for blocking this as we Brits already have RFID passports and some credit cards are now wireless too. They accept cash by mail in payment for your order.
What will $250 and a tank of gas buy these days? All the personal information you could ever want. At least that's what one hacker proved during a recent drive through San Francisco. With RFID sniffing gear set up in the back of a sedan, the apparatus snagged information broadcast by radio frequency chips in two passports yards away from his vehicle. What will less than $250 buy you? At DIFRwear? Protection for information held on RFID chips embedded in your passport, credit cards or work badge.
Many people don't realize that new U.S. passports have RFID technology with weak encryption that makes the data on the chip easy to read with the proper reader device.
If you're concerned about your RFID-chipped credit cards being skimmed, you might want to consider shielding them. DIFRwear makes a wallet with the shielding already included.
DIFRwear, officially launched in 2006, aims at giving individuals the ability to maintain privacy and ensure security in a world of unprotected contactless devices. The company produces clothing and accessories that block radio frequency identification (RFID) technologies. DIFRwear's products protect customers from the identity and information theft that can occur wirelessly from RFID tags, which include ID badges, credit cards and passports. One of the company's solutions, the RFID Blocking Wallet, has gained a FIPS 201 product approval, categorized as an electromagnetically opaque sleeve.
Following on from last week's story about how the MIFARE Classic's RFID chip, as used in London Transport's Oyster card, had been compromised, BoingBoing has gone a step further. It gave a video demonstration of a hacker demonstrating how easy it is to extract details from a RFID-equipped credit card… DIFRwear's stylish RFID blocking wallets are made of the finest quality leather and are built to last. The wallets contain a layer of RF shielding that prevents RFID readers from reading any passive tags stored within. They have a convenient flap to allow easy “flip” access to RFID cards. 
The stylish DIFRwear wallets and passport case contain a layer of RF shielding foil that prevents RFID readers from reading any passive tags stored within. They come in three popular colors of leather or vinyl. The wallets have a convenient flap to allow easy “flip” access to RFID cards. To allow RFID devices to be read, simply open the wallet and direct it towards the reader.
For smartcard-carrying citizens of the 21st century, leaving home without an RFID-safe wallet is the equivalent of wearing a T-shirt with your Social Security number silk-screened on it. That's why… DIFRwear began offering billfolds with a built in mesh Faraday cage to block RFID scanners.
The market for those transmission-blocking sleeves is based on fears that the information stored on ID chips in new U.S. passports can be intercepted by using RFID-ready technology. There have been several published reports of computer experts successfully breaking though the security protections that other countries have used to protect some versions of their RFID passports. A company named DIFRwear (RFID spelled backward) has sold about 10,000 covers since it started production just over a year ago.
RFID (radio-frequency identification) chips can now be found in many credit cards, student IDs and, as of October 2006, all new and renewed U.S. Passports. To prevent identity thieves from reading the personal information stored in these chips, these soft leather passport holders contain a layer of RF shielding to protect information stored within.
The adage &ldquoJust because you're paranoid doesn't mean they're not out to get you” seems to be the motivating idea behind the line of wallets and passport holders from DIFRWear, in New York City. Although they look like regular leather wallets and holders, each is actually designed to protect you from 21st-century criminals.”
Someone brushes against you as you walk across the hotel lobby… when you get back from dinner, the contents of your suitcase are all over the floor of your room and your laptop's missing. How did it happen? The pickpocket who brushed against you used an RFID reader to copy the radio-frequency identification data from the smartcard key in your wallet… And the crook could just as easily have read RFID data from any chip-equipped credit or debit card, driver's license, or U.S. passport&helip; While most RFID readers require proximity of 2 inches or less, a tweaked one can work from up to 69 feet away… How, then, can you protect yourself? By stuffing those stupid smartcards into a protective wallet that blocks the signal. DIFRwear offers them in three colors, and when you actually want to use the card, simply flip open the wallet and expose it to the smartcard reader. Now life is a little less scary.
Most of our wallets contain cards that are equipped with chips, and these chips carry some very personal information which could be used in a negative manner under the wrong hands. Even newer passports that come with chips embedded in them are vulnerable to information theft, where somebody with an RFID reader is able to capture all the information at the blink of an eye. You can prevent this mishap by purchasing a protective wallet from DIFRWear that prevents any signal from being transmitted… You can now choose when, where, and to whom you want to flash the information in your credit card.
Productdose.com has a rundown of the top ten wallets for geeks.
RFID-Blocking Wallet and Passport Cases: A geek's fascination with technology, its power to monitor the individual, and the methods the individual might use to evade that monitoring is often only a slight distance from paranoia. But that counts, too. RFID tags, like those currently found in passports and a variety of bank cards, can be read through most wallets with a basic receiver. Of course, this RFID Blocking Wallet is made to keep the man out of your business.
DIFRwear has joined the growing list of those offering a way to shield your RFID-enabled smartcards or passports. DIFRWear offers a line of men's and women's wallets that block RF signals using a principle called a Faraday Cage. A Faraday cage is usually a mesh created of material that can block radio frequency signals—typically specific metals. This is all of great concern these days, especially with US programs like the new e-passport and various contactless smart ID cards for government employees and citizens in general.
Of late, the advantages of RFID have been clouded by issues of privacy. One company decided to grab the bull by the horn and do its bit to help the average citizen safeguard his/her privacy. DIFRwear has come out with a line of wallets and passport holders that the company claims will repel and block unwanted RFID readers from gathering information. Quite a handy piece of leather to hold your RFID enabled credit cards, identity tags and passports!
Wired News reminds us that today the US starts issuing passports with RFID chips inside. Privacy nuts will want to remember these Faraday Caged passport wallets from DIFRwear. Beats us if it will “foil” (heh, get it?) the radio signals from your travel docs, but it sure beats wearing a lead overcoat through LAX Customs. 
Wired News reminds us that today, the US starts issuing passports with RFID chips inside. Privacy nuts will want to remember these Faraday Caged passport wallets from DIFRWEAR. Beats us if it will “foil” (heh, get it?) the radio signals from your travel docs, but it sure beats wearing a lead overcoat through LAX Customs.
The US Government's decision to issue passports with embedded smart chips starting August 14 has been criticized by privacy groups concerned about the security of the electronic info it holds… hackers have proven that they can, in fact, steal human identity by scanning RFID chips. Hi-tech robbers can also walk down the street and find out how much money you have in your pocket by scanning RFID in money. Hopefully, the RFID blocking Wallet and Passport Case from DIFRwear may offer valuable protection from both terrorists and thieves. The RFID blocking wallets and passport cases contain a layer of RF shielding, which prevents RFID readers from scanning the electronic data money and passports contain. To allow authorized RFID readers, simply open the wallet and direct it towards the reader.
In addition, some privacy advocates fear that criminals could steal someone's personal data simply by scanning the person with a chip reader. “There's been quite a few demonstrations of vulnerabilities in RFID technology,” said Mike Aiello, an information security specialist for a New York City investment bank. Aiello has launched a business called DIFRWear, which makes wallets that block RFID signals to prevent unauthorized viewing of credit card data. 
Also a huge thanks to Michael Aiello, Founder of DIFRwear, for making a generous contribution that we will be using for prizes for several upcoming contests including the slogan contest announced in this episode (#014). DIFRwear.com has donated a number of Faraday shielded wallets, fully RFID blocking, handsome leather wallets. We purchased some at H.O.P.E. and tested them out and love them! Check out their website www.difrwear.com. They carry passport wallets too. Great prices, everything is under $20.
Consumers are already wary of the new RFID-tagged driver's licenses and credit cards… but an online business DIFRwear has started selling an RFID-blocking wallet.” 
The issue is bigger than just the new style of passports, which contain chips that emit information that can be read by a scanner. We're also talking about your Metro SmarTrip card, your employee ID/building access card, your automatic highway toll pass, the newest wave of credit cards and gas purchasing cards, even digital drivers' licenses being developed in some states. 
Mr. Walker, a 37-year-old software engineer in Canton, Ohio, is one of a growing number of computer and technology experts who are becoming anxious about possible abuses of [
DIFRwear has come out with a line of wallets designed to protect against someone stealing the information on any RFID card you may carry… From credit cards, insurance cards, and passports many companies are going to RFID because of their durability and ease of use. The only problem is that any hacker within 10 feet of you could steal that information with a home-made RFID antenna.
DIFRwear.com has introduced RFID-blocking wallets and passport cases which are said to be able to able to block unauthorized scans. Useful to store RFID cards and passports, these leather cases have “a layer of RF shielding”, which prevents readers from “accessing any passive tags stored within.”
Who knows if a product like this will spawn a whole cottage industry—the fending off of RFID data from your person. DIFRwear.com, or Faraday Caged Apparel (we love that name) has started selling its RFID-blocking wallet that has layers of unobtrusive foil shielding—perfect for those that want to keep upcoming or existing ID cards and driver's licenses away from prying radio scanners.
A small company has started selling RFID-blocking wallets and passport cases that promise to block unauthorized scans against RFID cards and passports. DIFRWear.com is selling their leather cases that contain “a layer of RF shielding”, which prevents readers from “accessing any passive tags stored within.”
The DIFRwear company—motto ‘Faraday Caged Apparel’—apparently see a large and profitable market in supplying us all with anti-RFID products. Take for instance this RFID Blocking Wallet. It's yours for an achingly paranoid $15. Ho-hum, welcome to the 21st century, peeps.
From, DIFRWear, the company that (may not have) brought you the tin foil baseball cellphone-blocking headgear comes the latest in their line of “Faraday Caged and Apparel,&rdquo the RFID blocking wallet and passport case. It doesn't do much else than shield its contents from radio until opened, but why trust that Reynolds Wrap lining in your duct tape wallet when you can get the real deal for $15?