RFID and Information Security in Supply Chains

Information visibility is of paramount importance for effective and efficient operation of supply chains. Although not the sole enabling technological source for information visibility in supply chains, RFID tags naturally allow for its seamless operationalization. RFID tags are notorious on issues related to security/privacy concerns, and these concerns are magnified in a supply chain context where the ownership of any given tag is passed among disparate organizations throughout its lifetime. We consider this scenario from a cryptographic perspective. We consider the literature in this area, identify vulnerabilities in an existing authentication protocol, and suggest modifications that address these vulnerabilities.