(Fwd) Siemens Card Hacked?

["Axel H Horns" <horns@t-online.de>]

------- Forwarded message follows -------
Date sent:      	Tue, 14 Dec 1999 12:45:51 -0500
To:             	cryptography@c2.net, cypherpunks@cyberpass.net, dcsb@ai.mit.edu,
       	Digital Bearer Settlement List <dbs@philodox.com>
From:           	"R. A. Hettinga" <rah@shipwright.com>
Subject:        	Siemens Card Hacked?

Fire at will, people...

Cheers,
RAH
(Yes, you'd helping him write his story. For free. So, what else is
new? :-))

--- begin forwarded text


From: "Davis, Don" <Don.Davis@tfn.com>
To: "'minow@pobox.com'" <minow@pobox.com>, "'rah@ibuc.com'"
<rah@ibuc.com>,
        "'pgut001@cs.auckland.ac.nz'" <pgut001@cs.auckland.ac.nz>
Subject: Siemens Card Hacked? Date: Tue, 14 Dec 1999 10:12:35 -0500

Hello,

 This is Don Davis, editor of Card Technology, a Chicago-based
magazine that covers the smart card industry.

 I am trying to get some information about the alleged hack of a
Siemens card used in the Geldkarte system in Germany. Your e-mail
addresses were on a series of e-mails forwarded to me.

 I was hoping someone could explain to me what the hacker claims to
have done (in layman's terms) and what the significance would be if it
were true. Siemens claims there is no threat to Geldkarte or the
digital signature card (are they one and the same?)

 Also, has the hacker been identified? Siemens says, "The supposed
hacker is a student who programmed a free programmable card to analyse
the chip behavior. He has apologized to Infineon Technologies and
confirmed that the reports relating to his attempt at cracking the
chip are not true." What do you think? (And, by the way, what do they
mean by a programmable card; I do have calls into Infineon and
Geldkarte to get their answers, as well.)

 Any information you can provide will be greatly appreciated.

Don Davis, editor, Card Technology
don.davis@faulknergray.com
(312) 983 6152

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-----------------
R. A. Hettinga <mailto: rah@ibuc.com>
The Internet Bearer Underwriting Corporation <http://www.ibuc.com/> 44
Farquhar Street, Boston, MA 02131 USA "... however it may deserve
respect for its usefulness and antiquity, [predicting the end of the
world] has not been found agreeable to experience." -- Edward Gibbon,
'Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'

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