London Banter - View Single Post

Roland Perry · March 19th 10, 08:05 PM posted to uk.transport.london

In message , at 19:36:11 on Fri, 19 Mar
2010, d remarked:

Happens all the time at foreign hotel desks. The information isn't
secret - if you are relying this, please be advised that "security by
obscurity" is a very bad policy.

Hotels check your passport to make sure its you but I don't remember
any of them photocopying my details.

No. They copy down many of the details. Some do photocopy them as well.

Not necessarily. The point is it doesn't have to be in contact which the
reader. Someone could brush past you

Goalposts "few metres" zooom "brush past"

Not really. The point is it can be done without you knowing about it.

So someone can steal public information from me, that's encrypted. Wow.

even with a low powered reader and still grab the info. Its been done
with Oyster cards so it could be done with passports.

Breaking the encryption?

According to the wikipedia page it seems they're getting there.

Yawn

And you don't even need to break the encryption , just clone the data bit
for bit. And thats been done.

If that's the attack I think you may be referring to, it was ID cards,
and also not quite the attack that superficial reading suggests.
--
Roland Perry