2. Table of Contents
What is
NFC?
History
How NFC
works?
Standards of
NFC
Applications
Comparison
with
Bluetooth
NFC Devices
Benefits of
NFC
Vulnerabilities
of NFC
1 2 3 4 5
6 7 8 9
3. What is NFC?
Near Field Communication (NFC) is a contact-less communication
technology based on a radio frequency (RF) field.
NFC technology is perfectly designed to exchange data between two
devices through a simple touch gesture.
In other words, Near-Field Communication (NFC) is a set
of communication protocols for communication between two electronic
devices over a distance of 4 cm (11⁄2 in) or less using a base frequency of
13.56 MHz
4. History of NFC
NFC is rooted in Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID)
technology which allows compatible hardware to both supply
power to and communicate with an unpowered electronic tag
using radio waves.
May 17,
1983
• The first patent with the abbreviation "RFID" was granted to Charles
Walton, founder of the company known as “Proximity Devices”.
Early
1997
• This patent was first used in Star Wars, which allowed the data
communication between two devices in close proximity.
Mar 25,
2002
• Philips and Sony applied for the six fundamental patents of NFC.
Late
2004
• Nokia launch NFC shell add-on for Nokia 5140 and later Nokia
3220 models, to be shipped in 2005.
5. History of NFC
2006
• This year marked the initial specifications for NFC Tags.
2007
• These NFC tags were used as the first consumer trial in the UK
for Nokia 6131 handset.
Jan 2009
• NFC Forum released Peer-to-Peer standards to transfer
contacts, URLs, initiate Bluetooth, etc
2010
• First NFC-capable smart-phone, known as Nokia C7, and first
Android NFC phone, known as Samsung Nexus were released.
2011
• NFC support becomes part of the Symbian mobile operating
system with the release of Symbian Anna version
6. History of NFC
2012
• Sony introduced NFC "Smart Tags" to change modes and profiles on Sony
smartphone at close range, included with the Sony Xperia P Smartphone
released the same year
2013
• IBM scientists, in an effort to curb fraud and security breaches, developed
an NFC-based mobile authentication security technology.
2014
• AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile released Softcard, which runs on NFC-enabled
Android phones and iPhone 4 and iPhone 5 when an external NFC case is
attached
2015
• Google’s Android Pay function was launched, a direct rival to Apple Pay,
and its roll-out across the US commenced.
10. Applications of NFC
• NFC devices can be used in contactless payment systems, similar to those
used in credit cards and electronic ticket smart cards and allow mobile
payment to replace/supplement these systems.
Commerce
• NFC offers a low-speed connection with simple setup that can be used
to bootstrap more capable wireless connections.
Bootstrap
• NFC can be used for social networking, for sharing contacts, text messages
and forums, links to photos, videos or files and entering multiplayer mobile
games.
Social Network
• NFC-enabled devices can act as electronic identity documents found in
Passports and ID cards, and keycards for the use in Login Cards, Car key
and Access badges, etc.
Identity and Access
Tokens
• Smartphones can be paired with NFC Tags that can be programmed by NFC
apps. These programs can allow a change of phone settings, texting, app
launching, or command execution.
Smartphone
Automation
• NFC has been used in video games starting with Skylanders: Spyro's
Adventure.
Gaming
• Adidas Telstar 18 is a soccer ball that contains an NFC chip within. The chip
enables users to interact with the ball using a smartphone.
Sports
13. Benefits of NFC
NFC allows for faster transactions which cuts down on the amount of
time customers have to wait in line as well as time spent at the
register.
Efficient
NFC technology is easy to implement with just NFC-enabled payment
terminals, like credit card terminals or integrated point of sale
systems.
Easy to
implement
NFC signals can't be hacked from across town, across the street,
because data is transmitted within centimeters from NFC devices, like
a payment terminal.
Secured
NFC make payment transactions easy, as consumers often only need
to hold up their phones or their NFC cards to make a payment.
Ease of
use
14. Vulnerabilities of NFC
The range of NFC is limited to a few centimeters, so the standard plain NFC is
not protected against eavesdropping and thus becomes vulnerable.
An attacker can typically eavesdrop within 10 m of an active device and 1 m for
passive devices.
Because NFC devices usually include ISO/IEC 14443 protocols, relay attacks are
feasible. For this attack the adversary forwards the request of the reader to the
victim and relays its answer to the reader in real time, pretending to be the owner
of the victim's smart card.
As NFC uses radio waves for data transfer, the possibility for any number of
security attack exist such as data corruption, data modification and imposter
attacks.
15. Conclusion
NFC would enable all the users to make payments simply by tapping their
mobile phones with mobile phone reader like debit card or credit card
transactions.
Many banks, mobile operators, vendors and companies are implementing NFC
technology.
Since it is new technology therefore users need to learn about this technology on
how it works.
NFC needs collaboration among banks, merchants and mobile companies to
provide a secured platform to users that support NFC technology.
But it is very crucial to set up a secured platform for NFC so that users could
adopt this technology easily.