METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR AUTHENTICATING RFID TAG

• US 20100001840A1
• Filed: 07/06/2009
• Published: 01/07/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 07/07/2008
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute
• Original Assignee: Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute
• Inventors: CHO, Hyun Sook, CHOI, Doo Ho, KANG, You Sung, CHOI, Yong Je, CHUNG, Kyo Il
• Application Number:
  US12/498,221
• Publication Number:
  US 20100001840A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/10.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2209/47 using RFID associated with sensors
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2209/75 by polling or interrogating the sub-stations
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 9/00 Arrangements in telecontrol or telemetry systems for selectively calling a substation from a main station, in which substation desired apparatus is selected for applying a control signal thereto or for obtaining measured values therefrom

Abstract

Provided are a method and a system for authenticating a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag, by which an RFID reader and an authentication server authenticate the RFID tag by using a cryptographic operation and a protocol.

Claims

1. A method of authenticating an RFID (radio frequency identification) tag having a master key by an RFID reader, comprising:

requesting the RFID tag to transmit a security parameter and receiving a security parameter response from the RFID tag, wherein the RFID tag generates a session key based on the master key and a first random number,;

transmitting a challenge to the RFID tag and receiving a challenge-response from the RFID tag; and

requesting the RFID tag to transmit authentication data and receiving an authentication data response from the RFID tag.

2. The method of claim 1, before requesting the RFID tag to transmit the security parameter, further comprising:

transmitting a query message to the RFID tag and receiving the first random number from the RFID tag; and

sending an ACK (acknowledgement) message comprising the first random number to the RFID tag and receiving tag information comprising a UII (unique item identification), a PC (protocol control), and a XPC (extended protocol control) from the RFID tag.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the challenge comprises a plaintext type challenge random number, and the challenge-response comprises the plaintext type challenge random number and a second random number, which are encrypted using the session key.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the request for the authentication data comprises the second random number, and the authentication data response comprises authentication data, wherein the second random number is comprised in the challenge-response and encrypted using the session key, wherein the authentication data response is obtained by encrypting a result of an XOR (exclusive OR) operation performed on the challenge random number and the second random number, which are comprised in the challenge, by using the session key.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising requesting an authentication server to verify the authentication data and receiving a verified response from the authentication server, wherein the authentication server comprises information about the master key of the RFID tag.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the authentication server determines whether the RFID tag has been successfully authenticated based on whether authentication data generated by the authentication server based on the information about the masker key of the RFID tag is equal to authentication data generated by the RFID tag.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the request for verifying the authentication data comprises the UII of the RFID tag, the first random number, the security parameter, the challenge random number and the second random number which are encrypted using the session key and comprised in the challenge, and the authentication data.

8. A method of authenticating in RFID environment, wherein a RFID tag having a master key is authenticated by an RFID reader, the method comprising:

generating a session key based on the master key and a first random number;

receiving a security parameter request from the RFID reader and transmitting a security parameter to the RFID reader;

receiving a challenge from the RFID reader and transmitting a challenge-response to the RFID reader; and

receiving an authentication data request from the RFID reader and generating authentication data.

9. The method of claim 8, before receiving the security parameter request from the RFID reader, further comprising:

receiving a query message from the RFID reader and transmitting the first random number to the RFID reader; and

receiving an ACK message comprising the first random number from the RFID and transmitting tag information including a UII, a PC, and a XPC to the RFID reader.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the challenge comprises a plaintext type challenge random number, and the challenge-response comprises the plaintext type challenge random number and a second random number, which are encrypted using the session key.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein the authentication data request comprises the second random number which is comprised in the challenge-response and encrypted using the session key, and the authentication data response comprises authentication data which is obtained by encrypting a result of an XOR operation performed on the plaintext type challenge random number of the challenge and the second random number by using the session key.

12. The method of claim 8, wherein the authentication server determines whether the RFID tag has been successfully authenticated based on whether authentication data generated by the authentication server based on the information about the master key of the RFID tag is equal to authentication data generated by the RFID tag.

13. A method by which an authentication server comprising information about a master key of an RFID tag supports an RFID reader to authenticate the RFID tag having the master key, comprising

receiving at the authentication server a request to verify authentication data from the RFID reader, wherein said authentication data is generated by the RFID tag,;

generating authentication data based on the information about the master key; and

determining whether the RFID tag has been successfully authenticated based on whether authentication data generated by the authentication server is equal to authentication data generated by the RFID tag.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the request comprises a UII of the RFID tag, a first random number used by the RFID tag to generate a session key, a security parameter of the RFID tag, an encrypted challenge random number and an encrypted second random number which are comprised in a challenge-response generated by the RFID tag, and the authentication data.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the generation of the authentication data at the authentication server comprises:

searching for the master key related to the UII and generating the session key based on the searched master key and the first random number;

decrypting the encrypted challenge number and the encrypted second random number using the session key; and

encrypting a result of an XOR operation, which is performed on the decrypted challenge random number and the decrypted second random number, by using the session key.

16. An RFID reader authenticating an RFID tag having a master key, comprising:

a security parameter obtainer which requests the RFID tag to transmit a security parameter and receives a security parameter response, wherein the RFID tag generates a session key based on the master key and a first random number,;

a challenge processor which transmits a challenge to the RFID tag and receives a challenge-response; and

an authenticator which requests the RFID tag to transmit authentication data and receives an authentication data response.

17. The RFID reader of claim 16, further comprising a tag identifier which receives the first random number as a response to a query message transmitted to the RFID tag and receives a response comprising a UII, a PC, and an XPC with respect to an ACK (acknowledgement) message that the RFID reader has received along with the first random number, from the RFID tag.

18. The RFID reader of claim 16, wherein the challenge comprises a plaintext type challenge random number, and the challenge-response comprises the plaintext type challenge random number and a second random number, which are encrypted using the session key.

19. The RFID reader of claim 16, wherein the request for authentication data comprises the second random number which is comprised in the challenge-response and encrypted using the session key, and the authentication data response comprises authentication data which is obtained by encrypting a result of an XOR operation performed on the plaintext type challenge random number of the challenge and the second random number, using the session key.

20. The RFID reader of claim 16, wherein the authenticator requests an authentication server comprising information about the master key of the RFID tag to verify authentication data and receives a verified response from the authentication server.

21. An RFID tag having a master key, comprising:

a key generator which generates a session key based on the master key and a first random number;

a security parameter provider which generates a security parameter in response to a security parameter request received from the RFID reader;

a challenge processor which generates a challenge-response to a challenge received from the RFID reader; and

an authentication data provider which provides authentication data in response to an authentication data request received from the RFID reader.

22. The RFID tag of claim 21, further comprising a tag information provider which generates a response comprising the first random number with respect to a query message received from the RFID reader and provides the RFID reader with a response comprising a UII, a PC, and an XPC with respect to an ACK message that the RFID reader has received along with the first random number.

23. The RFID tag of claim 21, wherein the challenge-response comprises a challenge random number included in the challenge and a second random number which are encrypted using the session key, and the authentication data response comprises a result obtained by performing XOR operation on the challenge random number and the second random number, wherein the XOR operation is encrypted using the session key.

24. An authentication server supporting an RFID reader to authenticate an RFID tag having a master key, comprising:

an operator which receives a request for verifying authentication data generated by the RFID tag from the RFID reader and generates authentication data based on pre-stored information about the master key of the RFID tag; and

an authenticator which determines whether the RFID tag has been successfully authenticated based on whether the authentication data is equal to authentication data generated by the RFID tag.

25. The authentication server of claim 24, wherein the request comprises a UII of the RFID tag, a first random number used by the RFID tag to generate a session key, a security parameter of the RFID tag, an encrypted challenge random number and an encrypted second random number which are comprised in a challenge-response generated by the RFID tag, and the authentication data.

26. The authentication server of claim 25, wherein the operator comprises:

a key generator which generates a session key based on the master key searched based on the UII and the first random number; and

an encryptor/decryptor which decrypts the encrypted challenge random number and the encrypted second random number and encrypts a result of an XOR operation performed on the decrypted challenge random number and the decrypted second random number.