Proximity assurance for short-range communication channels

Abstract

A proximity check ensures that a card is physically close to the reader device in order to inhibit relay attacks. The proximity check makes relay attacks more difficult because an additional channel must be intercepted and / or spoofed or relayed. This solution can be used for any kind of short-range communication, including near field communications (NFC).

Description

technical field [0001] Embodiments of the present invention relate to proximity assurance for short-range communication connections between two devices. Background technique [0002] The security of short-range communication systems such as NFC (Near Field Communication) and RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) systems is vulnerable to attacks such as relay attacks. In a relay attack, a message is typically transmitted from a sender to a valid recipient of the message via an alternate communication channel. exist figure 1 An illustration of a relay attack is shown in . Family 101 is on vacation and has just left their hotel room. The wife 102 electronically locks the hotel door 105 using the short range communication system key card and puts the key card (not shown) in her pocket. Two attackers are involved in a relay attack: attacker 110 is holding a fake key card hidden in briefcase 120 and is standing near hotel door 105; attacker 115 has a key card reader hidden in ...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

Only the reader checks the proximity of the RFID card, which means that the RFID card does not have an independent method of verifying the proximity of the reader

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