Analysis of Security Weakness in NFC Applications on Android and Propose Policy Framework for Adoption

Abstract

Portable and mobile devices have already made their place in our society for private as well as public use. These devices are under continuous evolution and innovation and advancement in every aspect is being observed on daily basis. Availability of new technologies for creating convenience to users is threatened by the information security aspects being violated or not catered for at the initial stage. Android has emerged as the most popular operating system in portable handheld communication devices. More than 80 % of the devices at present are running Android operating System at their core to provide hardware functionality coupled with the software. Near Field Communication (NFC) has been in use for quite some time by many users in mobile devices. Its use is increasing by the rapid increase in the availability of the NFC enabled devices in the market. NFC enables data transfer by bringing the two devices in close proximity, about 3-5 inches. It is designed for integration with mobile phones, which can communicate with other phones (peer-topeer) or read information on tags and cards (reader). An NFC device can also be put in card emulation mode, to offer compatibility with other contactless smart card standards. This enables NFC enabled smart-phones to replace traditional contactless plastic cards used in public transport ticketing, access control, ATMs and other similar applications. NFC is a new and innovative technology with futuristic uses, but technology comes at a price both in terms of financial effects as well as the maintenance costs. The most pertinent concern would be that how much vulnerable the new technology is. There had already been instances where the security of NFC has been put to questions. It is vulnerable to numerous kinds of attacks. This research will list down the basic working principles of NFC, the protocols involved, vulnerabilities reported so far. Behavior of various applications on android operating system with emphasis on the weaknesses/ vulnerabilities and possible countermeasures and framework is proposed.