Charlie Miller showcases NFC hacks
Researcher Charlie Miller is looking to spur exploration into the security of near-field communication (NFC) hardware.
The Accuvant Labs research consultant showed attendees at the Black Hat conference a pair of demonstrations in which an attacking device could access a targeted handset and remotely execute files via NFC connections.
In his demonstrations, Miller showed an Android handset being compromised by way of the Beam filing sharing feature. By way of initiating a peer-to-peer NFC session (typically initiated by tapping two handsets together) Miller was able to access a targeted handset and run code which allows an attacker to load an attack page without any notification or permission. In the second demonstration, Miller was able to exploit connections between NFC devices and bluetooth components on the Nokia N9 to activate a handset, install and then execute files including a Powerpoint presentation.