Pacific Business Services in Dumaguete City inquired with Project NightOwl, a technology incubator and hacker space at Foundation University, Dumaguete City, to develop an RFID-based authentication and authorization system to secure access to their office space. Since NightOwl had already started working on this to secure access to the lab space, extending the existing project to matching the requirements or commercial application is the logical next step.

This is an ideal project for NightOwl to take on as it involves Research & Development as well as prototyping based on knowledge and experience present within the team. It also provides the students of Foundation University with an ideal opportunity to get working experience in a product development project for a real client, including the whole project management, quality control and documentation process. Lastly, the client is very interested in the concept of the NightOwl incubator/hackerspace and is extending support by providing additional budget that can be used to buy tools/materials for the NightOwl space.

Since this project will be used as part of a commercial operation the quality standards are set much higher than for any prototyping done for internal use. Details are important and bugs are to be solved promptly. Code quality and security are important aspects.

Project requirements:

• Use only Open Source Software (OSS/FOSS)
• Any software created as part of the project is to be released publicly under an OSS license
• To ensure that the system can easily be extended at the university the same RFID cards are to be used
• Include safety measures in case of calamities

The overall goal is to provide a secure, easy to use and extensible integrated system of hardware and software for a locking mechanism, RFID based authentication, database driven authorization and a web-based management application of these components, including an audit log. The system should be built securely to prevent unauthorized access and tampering, and be modular so additions to the software and hardware may be made at a later point. Last but not least safety measures have to be developed to ensure safe operation during emergency situations including, fires, flooding or earthquakes.

• Make use of existing open source software (do not reinvent the wheel)
• Devise a plan for security updates of the used software
• A secure and simple web-application is needed that provides:
  • Authentication management (register and remove ID's)
  • Authorization management (record which users are allowed to do authenticate at specific door locks)
  • Audit log (show who accessed which resources at what time)
• Employ rigid testing and CI practices to ensure code quality
• Ensure user's privacy by not providing any information about cards and users to unauthorized users
• Backup & Restore functionality

• A secure lock that is tamper proof from the outside and inside
• An RFID scanner that has the same frequency as the FU cards (13.56Mhz)
• A network connected controller that is capable of handling authentication, authorization and serving the web application
• Include a method to open the door quickly from the inside in case of power failure or other calamities

• Authentication and authorization from other sources (LDAP/AD, centralized databases, etc)
• Centralized authentication and authorization database in case of multiple readers
• Touch screen interface to the authentication/authorization/audit-log management application

Below are the actually required materials for the client. In agreement with Ryan we will later on add extra materials or some equipment to add to our own supply.

Milestone 1

• Research existing (open source) tools and software for reading RFID tags
• Roughly research different protocols, standards and tools for RFID communication and authentication, resulting in a list with short description of the tools
• Research rough list of required tools and materials
• Finalize our list of requirements
• Make a material list and budget
• Make a project planning (dates on the milestones)
• Finalize this project proposal
• Discuss proposal with client
• Discuss client requirements

Milestone 2

• Adjust proposal
• Discuss proposal with client and get final OK

Milestone 3

• Evaluate potential physical attack vectors (tampering with the hardware)
• Evaluate potential local software attack vectors
• Evaluate potential remote software attack vectors
• Evaluate potential privacy flaws
• Make software security management plan (signaling and updating security updates)

Milestone 4

• Study different standards and protocols regarding RFID/NFC authentication
• Research the possibilities for the connection of the controller to the door lock
• Research different libraries for RFID-reader/controller communication
• Research different hardware components, their functioning and available libraries and tools
• Create a technical design for the RFID reader, it's controller and the lock

Milestone 5

• Research different open-source authentication and authorization packages supporting RFID
• Make a technical design of the management software

Rest:

• Get a final OK for the the designs
• Order parts
• Start writing software
• Make a software and hardware testing plan
• Install first prototype
• Train the client on use of the prototype
• Test first prototype
• Adjust design, hardware and software according to test results
• Install final prototype
• Let user evaluate the system for a while
• Evaluate the system with the user in a feedback session
• Create the final version based on the client's feedback
• Install and test the final version

• RFID reader
• Controller
• Authentication and Authorization protocols and software (See also the article on Privacy Preserving Authorized RFID Authentication Protocols)
• Management web application
• Security and privacy

We made a 3D design for the connection between the servo and the lock, and a design for the mounting of the servo to the door. The files can be found on https://github.com/Waterspace/servo-lock-mount. If you click on the stl files, github shows you an interactive 3D view of the model.

The model has been printed, and after some tweaking, a heat gun and superglue we got it to fit! So now we need to create a casing for the electronics and hook everything up!

The code for the current arduino version can be found on github.

• http://www.instructables.com/id/A-Universal-RFID-Key/
• http://www.instructables.com/id/RFID-Emulator-How-to-Clone-RFID-Card-Tag-/
• http://www.secureidnews.com/news-item/understanding-rfid-part-9-rfid-privacy-and-security/
• http://www.projectmanagementdocs.com/project-planning-templates/project-management-plan.html#axzz4HZDJlNV0
• http://www.openbeacon.org/
• http://www.openpcd.org/
• http://llrp.org/
• http://transcends.co/open-source-rifidi-products/