RFID zapper

[madan1]

Howdy everyone.
Some background - I'm bored AF.. you know.. lockdowns.. closed gyms, pubs, bars... stay home.. etc.. and just got my new passport. This time it contains RFID with some biometrics.. and I'm not comfortable with that.
Yes, yes, I know it is illegal to temper with official documents and stuff.. but I also like my privacy.
So I was thinking about how to kill the rfid without leaving any traces.. and I remembered that I have one of those taser modules ( only the high-voltage module ).
Here is what I'm thinking:
-get a very strong light and see what antenna is embedded in the passport ( by the way it can be read with a phone )
-find a similar antenna from rfid sticker or make one from few coils of copper wire
-connect the antenna to one of the taser module outputs
-let the spark jump between the antenna and the other taser output
-put the passport close to the taser antenna
-let the mo**erfocker burn! Burn, mo**erfocker, burn!

So, do you think this will work?

[stj]

Re: RFID zapper

no,
it works by using a coil to receive energy that charges a cap to power the chip(s)

if you want to wreck one you overload the coil with a big alternating magnetic field.
maybe with a bulk tape eraser or a degausing wand/gun

you see supermarkets use them to disable the stickers with a coil in them at the checkout.

actually a spark discharge may corrupt the memory though. - but you have no way to know.

[madan1]

Re: RFID zapper

Well, today was the day .
See the photos for the setup and some result images.

So first I tried it on a RFID fest card and I must admit, I overcooked it.. I left the taser on for about 5 seconds and now there is a visible melt dot on one side of the card and a bulge on the other.
Test 2 - similar RFID fest card, but this time I just touched the battery with the wire.. so I guess just few milliseconds. Nothing visible on the card, but no more readable on the phone.

The real deal - the passport. First confirmed that the phone can detect it.
A little zap as in test 2 and the phone no more detects it. No visible marks.
So I guess mission accomplished. Due to the current viral situation I guess I'll not be able to test the passport on any border soon, but I will post if any issues appear .

[stj]

Re: RFID zapper

nice

btw, if you have a frequency generator and a scope (i only have a scope) it would be interesting to see what frequency different chips respond to.
specially the chips in money that most people have not noticed yet!!!
those must use a pretty high frequency because of the shorter antenna.

[stj]

Re: RFID zapper

incidentally, this "lock down" so-called, is drawing out the lunacy in people!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9RB3T_kVh4

[madan1]

Re: RFID zapper

nice

btw, if you have a frequency generator and a scope (i only have a scope) it would be interesting to see what frequency different chips respond to.
specially the chips in money that most people have not noticed yet!!!
those must use a pretty high frequency because of the shorter antenna.

I do not have a real freq.gen. or either a scope ( I have a DIY kit scope basically suitable only for analog audio signals and some spsu )
but, I will be interested in reading more about the chips in money.. hmm... that's the first time I hear about that. By now, I knew that "they" were able to read variable RFIDs from 20+ meters and implementing the technology for tracking people... I do not know how far this has gone tho.

incidentally, this "lock down" so-called, is drawing out the lunacy in people!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9RB3T_kVh4

That guy is crazy AF! I do not think I'll ever be that bored
Still, soon I'll try to cook other devices. By the way any idea how to measure the induced voltage in the affected devices (pcbs) without killing the not-that-cheap-but-still-amateur-digital-multimeter ?

[stj]

Re: RFID zapper

well reading voltage is easy, just make a resistive divider before the meter with high-voltage resistors in series (for physical spacing)

but i dont know how you would get access to the pcb tracks!

about the money - there are utube video's of people blowing the chips up in euro-notes by putting them in the microwave oven!
i also know that the latest high-value coins have chips in because i know people in the cash-handling industry - but even they dont know how to communicate with them yet!!

[Dannyx]

Re: RFID zapper

This made me laugh and I like the idea at the same time, though please care to explain where you place the "victims" to kill them: directly over the coil you taped to the desk, or close to the spark gap ? What wire did you use and how many turns of it ? Looks pretty thick.

I'd like to do this to my credit card to disable NFC without leaving marks, though I think this would also kill the chip, making the card useless, since the NFC part is the same as the visible chip...

[madan1]

Re: RFID zapper

The victim's antenna is placed right over the coil.
I used this wire gauge, because this was the first copper wire I saw ... but I guess anything that can handle few hundreds of kV pulses without melting will do the work.
The windings are 7 .. that's how many I counted on an RFID sticker.
The idea ( at least in my head ) is that the coil charge/discharge will induce similar in the victim's antenna which will kill the chip.

I guess if you shorten all pins of the chip you want to protect and then ground/earth them you might be able to save it and meanwhile kill the RFID. Still, if you do not have at least one extra card for tests, it will better just to puncture the RFID chip.


By the way, just tried to cook an old ipod mp3 player... no luck.. I guess due to the massive metal back cover.

[Dannyx]

Re: RFID zapper

Sure wish a large EMP device like this existed to wipe out annoying music sources around here >_>

[madan1]

Re: RFID zapper

Sure wish a large EMP device like this existed to wipe out annoying music sources around here >_>

Such devices do exist... but you can't put your hands on them unless you are military or some of their contractors.
There are rumors about hand-held devices that can stop a car from several hundreds of meters.

And then we have the mother of all EMPs - high altitude/stratosphere nuclear explosion, which can cook the electrical system of whole countries.

[stj]

Re: RFID zapper

the car thing is a myth from fast & furious2

there is only 3 ways to create a large emp,
1: get lightning to strike your enemy!
2: nuke your enemy! - but it's only a local emp - you cant kill a city with an air-burst, that's more hollywood bs.
3: make an emp bomb - and get thrown in prison forever!
because an emp bomb is based on a big bomb with an added pre-charged coil and some related bits.

[madan1]

Re: RFID zapper

the car thing is a myth from fast & furious2

there is only 3 ways to create a large emp,
1: get lightning to strike your enemy!
2: nuke your enemy! - but it's only a local emp - you cant kill a city with an air-burst, that's more hollywood bs.
3: make an emp bomb - and get thrown in prison forever!
because an emp bomb is based on a big bomb with an added pre-charged coil and some related bits.

The hand-held emp gun has been hinted is several documentaries.. one of which was about how a swat ( or special forces, etc. ) team captured a serbian war criminal.. the exact quote was that they made an ambush on the highway and were able to remotely stop the car from 100+ meters.
In other documentary ( I can't remember what it was about ) the hinted that the US military has such such a portable device capable of frying electronics from distance.

About the high-altitude nucl. expl. - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starfish_Prime

[stj]

Re: RFID zapper

given the fact that the serbian guy probably had a distributor and carb on his car, i still call BS.
besides, car electronics are shielded to hell and back - both physically and with the electronics.
diodes, movs, filters all over the things.