Scalable Grouping-proof Protocol for RFID Tags

In this paper, we propose a grouping-proof protocol for RFID tags based on (n, n)-secret sharing. Our proposed protocol addresses the scalability issue of the previous protocols by removing the need for an RFID reader to relay messages from one tag to another tag. We also present a security model for a secure grouping-proof protocol which properly addresses the so called mafia fraud attack (sometimes called distance fraud) which is a simple relay attack suggested by Desmedt. Any locationbased protocol including RFID protocols is vulnerable to this attack even if cryptographic technique is deployed. One practical countermeasure against mafia fraud attack is to integrate a distance-bounding protocol into a location-based protocol. However, Chandran et al. pointed out that forging geographic location of devices cannot be theoretically prevented. Therefore, we need to take this fact into account in order to make sense about security notion for secure grouping-proof protocols.