Weaknesses in two RFID authentication protocols

Abstract

One of the most important challenges related to Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) systems is security. In this paper, we analyze the security and performance of two recent RFID authentication protocols based on two different code-based cryptography schemes. The first one, proposed by Malek and Miri, is based on randomized McEliece cryptosystem. The second one, proposed by Li et al., is based on Quasi Cyclic-Moderate Density Parity Check (QC-MDPC) McEliece cryptosystem. We provide enough evidence to prove that these two RFID authentication protocols are not secure. Furthermore, we propose an improved protocol that eliminates existing weaknesses in studied protocols.