Formal Security Analysis and Improvement of a Hash-Based NFC M-Coupon Protocol

Near field communication (NFC) is a Radio Frequency (RF) technology that allows data to be exchanged between devices that are in close proximity. We formally analyse a hash based NFC mobile coupon protocol using formal methods (Casper/FDR2 ). We discover a few possible attacks which break the requirements of the protocol. We propose solutions to address these attacks based on two different threat models. In addition, we illustrate the modelling from the perspective of the underlying theory perspective, which is beyond the knowledge required for modelling using CasperFDR tool (black-box approach). Therefore, this paper is a facilitating case study for a “black-box” CasperFDR user to become a more powerful analyser.