RFID technology in mobile applications

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RFID technology in mobile applications

• Karol Hrudkay
• Transport Research Institute, ilina, Slovak
  Republic

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RFID technology - introduction

• Radio Frequency Identification - means to
  efficiently and quickly auto-identify objects,
  assess, people, ...
• Real-time tracking of inventory in the supply
  chain
• RFID tag tiny computer chip with very small
  antenna passive/active
• The chip contain Electronic product code (EPC)
  uniquely identify the object
• The antenna transmits EPC to RFID reader within
  a certain RF range, without requiring line-of-site

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Current RFID applications

• Transport and logistics
• toll management, tracking of goods,
• Security and access control
• tracking people, controlling access to restricted
  areas
• Supply chain management
• item tagging, theft-prevention, product life
  cycle,
• Medical and pharmaceutical applications
• identification and location of staff and
  patients, asset tracking, counterfeit protection
  for drugs,
• Manufacturing and processing
• streamlining assembly line process,
• Agriculture
• tracking of animals, quality control,
• Public sector, government
• passports, drivers licenses, library systems,

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RFID technology - properties

• Advantages
• rough conditions,
• long read ranges,
• portable databases,
• multiple tag read/write,
• tracking items in real-time
• Results
• quick scanning of products in large bulks,
• automated supply chain management
• significant savings
• accuracy of shipment sent and received,
• check on product theft, counterfeiting, product
  recall, ...

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Mobile RFID technology

• Vision of automatic identification and ubiquitous
  computing Internet of objects
• highly connected network
• dispersed devices, objects, items can communicate
  each other
• real-time information about objects, location,
  contents, destination, ambient conditions
• efficient and easy M2M identification,
  communication and decision-making
• Handheld portable devices mobile phones, PDAs
  behaves as RFID readers and tags
• conventional RFID closer to common user

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Applications of mobile RFID technology

• Major tasks
• download and view information represented by RFID
  tag
• quickly and easily download info represented by
  RFID tag and view that info via device's display
• M2M identification and communication
• e.g. RFID mobile device behaves as a RFID tag
  (authenticate to access, carry out payments,
  download multimedia content from kiosk, quick
  call and instant message, ...)
• Mobile RFID application zones
• LBS (Location-based services) zone
• enterprise zone
• private zone

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LBS zone

• Services related to and available at
  customer's current location
• Coverage public places, roads, shopping centres,
  cinemas, ...
• Service provider deploy RFID tagged items/devices
• Various security threats
• most of tags respond to every mobile phones
• usually tag-reader mutual authentication and
  strong secure communication tag-phone is not
  considered
• publicly available tags can be fake or illegally
  modified one-way authentication mechanism
  needed (tag -gt phone)
• Items/product tagged with low-cost passive RFID
  tags (EPCGlobal Gen. 2 UHF tags) assumed

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Mobile RFID security at LBS zone

• Security threats and security requirements
• Secure job delegation and trust model
• identity and authenticity of providers
  information server, security of transaction,
  protection of privacy security delegated to
  mobile operator
• Malicious tag information servers
• it is essential to authenticate and authentic tag
  information server to be accessed
• Authorised tag information access
• categorisation which user is entitled to download
  what kind of information - authentication,
  authorisation, access-control
• User privacy protection
• Identity and location of user, user profile
• Data integrity and confidentiality
• secure electronic data interchange is required
  (MP SP IS)

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Mobile RFID security assessment at LBS zone
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Mobile RFID at LBS zone building blocks

• Mobile RFID (M-RFID)
• Mobile phone with RFID reader and tag
• RFID tags
• every tag contains its unique EPC number
• company identification, product number, object
  unique identifier
• related product information is stored on EPC
  network
• Mobile operator (MO)
• trust is concentrated at the site of MO
  ,trusted proxy
• EPC network
• specifically to look up EPC data (like DNS)
  further information is stored on databases and
  servers of EPC network
• communication can be encrypted

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Mobile RFID at LBS zone security solutions

• Mutual authentication M-RFID MO
• secure job delegation, trust model, data
  integrity and confidentiality
• Mutual authentication MO EPC IS
• MO takes responsibility so select, identify and
  authenticate only genuine SP (and its servers)
• Certification for identity management,
  authentication and authorisation
• M-RFID can request anonymous certificate from MO
• M-RFID privacy
• kill the tag
• lock the tag
• blocker tag

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Mobile RFID at enterprise zone

• Mobile phone assists mobile staff
• inventory checkers, field engineers, maintenance
  and repair staff, security guards,
• Different areas
• real-time inventory management, work attendance,
  instructions on how to operate tagged items,
  identification of and access control to tagged
  equipments and secure enclosures, presence of
  staff on monitored places,
• Security framework
• list of employees and items/products,
• designing and implementing of key/psw.
  distribution, data integrity and confidentiality,
  identification, authentication, and access
  control among staff, RFID reader, RFID tagged
  items and EPC network

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Mobile RFID security assessment - enterprise zone
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Mobile RFID at private zone

• Mobile phone assists user in the private space
• instant call or instant message by scanning RFID
  tagged items
• Characterisation
• small zone, simple security model easily
  deployed and maintained
• off-the-shelf mobile RFID kits
• possible obtain storage space on the EPC network
• reader to tag authentication needed (within home)
• user identity and access control list

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RFID and standardisation

• Need for harmonisation at national and
  international level
• Standardisation ensures compatibility and
  interoperability
• Various players
• Automotive Industry Action Group (AIAG)
• European Article Numbering (EAN),
• EPCglobal
• European Radiocommunication Office (ERO)
• European Telecommunication Standard Institute
  (ETSI)
• International Air Transport Association (IATA)
• International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO)
• International Organisation for Standardisation
  (ISO), International Electrotechnical Commission
  (IEC)
• International Telecommunication Union (ITU)
• Universal Postal Union (UPU)

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Areas of RFID standardisation

• Air interface, protocols
• Data structure
• Conformance
• Applications
• Existing standards focus on specific area or
  sector

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RFID based mobile telecommunication services

• Information retrieval
• Data transmission
• Automated messaging

• Voice services
• Device integration
• Presence indication
• Mobile payment

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RFID and SIM card

• SIM card with embedded RFID capabilities
• benefits of contactless cards into the MP using
  SIM cards as a storage device
• installed, updated cancelled over the air (GSM)

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Practical issues

• Mobile RFID technology - privacy/security issues
• Impact on networks
• new services will generate more traffic in fixed
  and mobile networks
• how big this impact is, how network design has to
  change
• Internetworking technologies
• how RFID technology can integrate into existing
  network
• context of RFID applications in MP with other
  technologies
• RFID (Internet protocol) IP mapping
• evolution towards active RFID tags with
  networking capability large number of tag will
  need network addresses
• Service capabilities, architecture at network and
  service levels, signalling protocols, QoS,
  business model

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Conclusion

• RFID enables ubiquitous computing integrating
  computation into environment
• MP and RFID potential for mobile
  telecommunication services
• Broad range of services, attractive for customers
• Variety of technical questions
• Security and privacy issues
• Impact on fixed and mobile networks

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Thank you for your attention! Karol
Hrudkay Transport Research Institute ilina,
Slovakia hrudkay_at_vud.sk