Methods and Apparatuses to Secure Data Transmission in RFID Systems

• US 20090224884A1
• Filed: 03/06/2008
• Published: 09/10/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 03/06/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Round Rock Research LLC
• Original Assignee: Keystone Technology Solutions, LLC
• Inventors: TUTTLE, John R.
• Granted Patent: US 8,174,362 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/10.100
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/0008 General problems related to the reading of electronic memory record carriers, independent of its reading method, e.g. power transfer
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13003 Constructional details of switching devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13095 PIN / Access code, authentication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/033 of the user plane, e.g. user's traffic

Abstract

Methods and apparatuses to secure data transmission in a radio frequency identification (RFID) system against eavesdropping, using multiple communication channels. In one embodiment, a method includes communicating key information and cipher text generated based on the key information, or plain text, using a plurality of different, distinct and separate communication channels connected to an RFID tag.

Claims

1. A method implemented in a radio frequency identification (RFID) system, the method comprising:

communicating at least a portion of key information over a first communication channel between an RFID reader and an RFID tag; and

communicating at least a portion of cipher text generated based on the key information using a second communication channel between the RFID reader and the RFID tag, the first and second communication channels being distinct and separate from each other.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first communication channel comprises radio frequency signals transmitted in a first polarization;

and the second communication channel comprises radio frequency signals transmitted in a second polarization.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the portion of the key information and the cipher text are transmitted concurrently via the first and second communication channels.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the key information comprises a random number transmitted from the RFID tag to the RFID reader in response to an interrogation signal from the RFID reader to the RFID tag;

and the cipher text is transmitted from the RFID reader to the RFID tag.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the key information and the cipher text are transmitted in separate and non-overlapping time periods.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the key information is transmitted in a first communication session;

and the cipher text is transmitted in a second communication session.

7. The method of the claim 6, wherein the first and second communication session is separated by at least a third communication session between the RFID reader and a separate RFID tag.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the key information is transmitted while the RFID tag is at a location which is outside a communication range between the RFID reader and the RFID tag while the portion of the cipher text is generated.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

communication a further portion of the cipher text generated based on the key information using a third communication channel between the RFID reader and the RFID tag.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

distributing portions of the cipher text, according to the key information, for transmission over a plurality of communication channels, including the second and third communications channels.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the key information defines which of the plurality of communication channels is used to transmit a portion of the cipher text at which time slot.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

transmitting false values using one or more of the communication channels when the one or more communication channels are not selected to transmit the cipher text at a current time slot according to the key information.

13. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

interleaving, according to the key information, false data and the cipher text for concurrent transmission in different time slops over a plurality of communication channels.

14. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

communicating a portion of key information over the second communication channel between an RFID reader and an RFID tag.

15. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

storing a secret; and

combining the secret and the key information to generate an encryption key;

wherein the cipher text is generated using the encryption key.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the secret is stored at a time of manufacture of the RFID tag.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the key information comprises a random number generated by the RFID tag in response to an interrogation command from the RFID reader.

18. A radio frequency identification (RFID) system, comprising:

an RFID tag; and

an RFID reader wirelessly coupled to the RFID tag via radio frequency signals, the RFID reader and the RFID tag to communicate at least a portion of key information over a first communication channel and to communicate at least a portion of cipher text generated based on the key information using a second communication channel;

wherein the first and second communication channels are distinct and separate from each other.

19. The radio frequency identification (RFID) system of claim 18, wherein the RFID tag includes a first antenna to communicate radio frequency signals in first polarization for the first communication channel and a second antenna to communicate radio frequency signals in second polarization for the second communication channel.

20. The radio frequency identification (RFID) system of claim 18, wherein the RFID tag further includes a transceiver and memory integrated in an Integrated Circuit (IC) chip, the memory to store an identification of the RFID tag.

21. The radio frequency identification (RFID) system of claim 18, wherein the key information comprises a random number generated in response to an interrogation command from the RFID reader.

22. The radio frequency identification (RFID) system of claim 18, wherein the RFID tag and the RFID reader interleave false data and the cipher text in different time slots for transmission over the first and second communication channels.

23. The radio frequency identification (RFID) system of claim 22, wherein the first and second communication channels are used concurrently in transmitting the false data and the cipher text.

24. The radio frequency identification (RFID) system of claim 23, wherein in a time slot one of the first and second channels is used to transmit the cipher text and a separate one of the first and second channels is used to transmit the false data.

25. The radio frequency identification (RFID) system of claim 22, wherein the RFID tag and the RFID reader interleave the false data and the cipher text in different time slots according to the key information.

26. A machine readable media embodying instructions, the instructions causing a radio frequency identification (RFID) system to perform a method, the method comprising:

communicating key information and cipher text generated based on the key information using a plurality of different communication channels connected to an RFID tag.

27. The machine readable media of claim 26, wherein a first channel of the plurality of different communication channels is based on radio frequency signals transmitted in a first polarization;

and the second channel of the plurality of different communication channels is based on radio frequency signals transmitted in a second polarization.

28. The machine readable media of claim 26, wherein the plurality of different communication channels are based on wireless radio frequency signals to the RFID tag;

and communication ranges of the RFID tag corresponding to the plurality of different communication channels do not overlap.

29. The machine readable media of claim 26, wherein the plurality of different communication channels are established to the RFID tag in different time periods.

30. The machine readable media of claim 26, wherein the method further comprises:

interleaving false data and the cipher text according to the key information for transmission over the plurality of different communication channels concurrently.

31. A method implemented in a data communication system, the method comprising:

selecting a first plurality of portions of data according to a key;

transmitting the first plurality of portions using a first communication channel of the data communication system;

selecting a second plurality of portions of the data according to the key;

transmitting the second plurality of portions using a second communication channel of the data communication system.

32. The method of claim 31, further comprising:

interleaving the first plurality portions and false data according to the key for transmission over the first data communication channel; and

interleaving the second plurality portions and false data according to the key for transmission over the second data communication channel.

33. The method of claim 32, wherein the first and second communications channels are used concurrently.

34. The method of claim 32, further comprising:

randomly generating the false data that is interleaved with the first and second portions.

35. The method of claim 32, further comprising:

encrypting a plain text using the key to generate the data prior to the selecting of the first and second pluralities of portions.

36. The method of claim 31, wherein a portion of the data corresponding to a bit of the key is selected as one of the first plurality of portions if the bit of the key has a first value;

and the portion of the data corresponding to the bit of the key is selected as one of the second plurality of portions if the bit of the key has a second value.

37. The method of claim 36, wherein each bit of the key corresponds to one or more predetermined bits of the data.