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U.Virginia Student Cracks Credit Card Security Code
posted 3:39 pm Sat March 01, 2008 - CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va.
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A University of Virginia graduate student and two fellow hackers say they have cracked the code used for tiny chips found inside many "smartcards." Twenty-six-year-old Karsten Nohl and his two German partners dismantled the chip and mapped out its secret security algorithm. They ran the formula through a computer program and broke the encryption after a few hours.
The wireless chips found inside credit cards, car keys, security keycards and subway passes use technology known as radio-frequency identification. Cracking the code would allow a criminal to clone credit cards, get free subway rides, gain access to buildings or steal cars.
The company who makes the chips disputed the claim, saying Nohl and his partners obtained only a portion of the cryptographic algorithm.
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