More and more credit cards are coming with built in rfid chips. The credit card companies do this to allow the convenience of "tap and go" purchasing
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In a pinch, cigarette packs made with metal foil also block the RF from getting to the RFID. The way these work is a powerful radio (100W) is picked up by an antenna in the card, and the power from that (microwatts) powers the chip which then sends back a number code over radio in a short burst. If you block the RF with a faraday cage of any kind, the chip is null and powerless (literally).
that works too if you wrap it and fold up the ends. You have to surround the device completely with conductor. And while copper works better than Aluminum, yes, it will block enough of the RF from the reader that the chip cannot reply, and the reply would be blocked by the aluminum even if enough power was pumped out to penetrate the aluminum via tunneling effects (nobody is going to throw a megawatt of power at you just to get your credit card number.)
Given the severe overkill of the Stuxnet virus, some hackers will go to any length to achieve their goals.
And yes, I do know that Stuxnet is presumed to have been written by one or the other or both of the US and Israel as an attack on Iran. My only point is where there is a strong enough will, there will be a way. Only drawback is you tend to cook the victim as you scan their card ;-)
BTW - regarding the new airport body scanners, one of the concerns is that they don't have much resolution as currently configured, and some are concerned that they could be easily reconfigured to higher (potentially significantly higher) energy levels to increase resolution.
Funny thing is, I got my first "intimate" ;-) pat down the last time I flew. Not for wanting to skip the scanners (they weren't using any), but because I asked for a bottle of sensitive medicine to be hand checked instead of x-rayed.
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Given the severe overkill of the Stuxnet virus, some hackers will go to any length to achieve their goals.
And yes, I do know that Stuxnet is presumed to have been written by one or the other or both of the US and Israel as an attack on Iran. My only point is where there is a strong enough will, there will be a way. Only drawback is you tend to cook the victim as you scan their card ;-)
BTW - regarding the new airport body scanners, one of the concerns is that they don't have much resolution as currently configured, and some are concerned that they could be easily reconfigured to higher (potentially significantly higher) energy levels to increase resolution.
Funny thing is, I got my first "intimate" ;-) pat down the last time I flew. Not for wanting to skip the scanners (they weren't using any), but because I asked for a bottle of sensitive medicine to be hand checked instead of x-rayed.
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