An Asymptotically Optimal RFID Authentication Protocol Against Relay Attacks

TL;DR

This paper introduces an RFID authentication protocol that is asymptotically optimal against relay attacks, ensuring high security without sacrificing authentication accuracy.

Contribution

It presents the first protocol that prevents relay attacks in RFID systems without reducing the security level of authentication.

Findings

Prevents relay attacks without security degradation

Minimizes false acceptance probability

Achieves asymptotic optimality in security

Abstract

Relay attacks are a major concern for RFID systems: during an authentication process an adversary transparently relays messages between a verifier and a remote legitimate prover. We present an authentication protocol suited for RFID systems. Our solution is the first that prevents relay attacks without degrading the authentication security level: it minimizes the probability that the verifier accepts a fake proof of identity, whether or not a relay attack occurs.