RFID tags can now be hacked with a notebook computer, special software, and an RFID reader

• LAS VEGAS---A German consultant has released a tool that its creator says will allow modifications of the code stored within RFID tags, theoretically allowing consumers to wreak havoc in future retail deployments.
• Click here to read about eWEEK Labs' analysis of RFID.
• Although each RFID tag carries with it a unique product ID, the EPC is stored in the "user area" portion of the chip, which allows it to be rewritten.
• On the other hand, consumers would have to worry about the items in their shopping carts being read by "Big Brother," or at least the many retailers in a shopping mall.
• The tool was released as part of a talk at the Black Hat Briefings here, dedicated to IT security.
• Click here to read about Congress' RFID concerns.
• And there's an even worse scenario: "It is only a matter of time before someone puts a root exploit on one of these tags and hacks into your supply chain," Grunwald said.
• RFID tags have been seen as a revolutionary device by retailers, manufacturers and the military.
• In Europe, the Gillette Co. has used RFID tags inside packages of razor blades to minimize theft, Grunwald said.
• And Wal-Mart Stores, the world's largest company, and the U.S. Department of Defense have separate programs to rework their supply chains around RFID tags by next year.
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