"RFID is not a new technology. It's been around for decades, but its going mainstream," Grand said.

In a wide-ranging panel discussion that followed Paget, Nicole Ozer, an attorney with the ACLU; Black Hat director Jeff Moss; Mike Witt, a Deputy Director of U.S. CERT (Computer Emergency Readiness Team), and security researchers Kaminsky and Grand said the right of independent security researchers to investigate problems like the vulnerabilities in RFID proximity cards was critical to protect.

Witt of DHS said that U.S. CERT said that DHS often serves as an intermediary between researchers and companies, especially when there is a concern about legal dangers in outing security holes. The agency generally gives companies 45 days to respond to reports of serious security holes in their products, he said.

U.S. CERT is now working with both IOActive and HID to investigate the issue and may issue a vulnerability notice concerning the security flaws in HID proximity cards, said Mike Witt, a deputy director of U.S. CERT. Witt said that use of HID proximity cards was widespread in the government, but he didn't say whether DHS used the vulnerable RFID proximity cards.

Ozer of the ACLU said that HID's efforts to suppress discussion of flaws in its RFID proximity cards may have the opposite effect: stirring discussion about the vulnerable cards, which are often used to access buildings, data centers, and other sensitive facilities.