Readers will know we like our technology here at Bartalks, even if we can’t always get it to work. It appears Nespresso has their struggles as well after Polle Vanhoof, a security researcher loaded his Nespresso smart card with \u20ac167,772.15 without spending a cent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The hack does involve some technical skill so it’s out of reach for many of us, but IT unethical IT geeks will be paying attention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The hack works simply by changing the value on the card using free sofware such as nfc-mfclassic that Vanhoof modified. The data uses weak encryption which the software can then crack, and since there is no validation of the card back to a central location, nobody is the wiser.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Vanhoof observed what binary elements changed on the card after making a purchase. Once he had that information, it was simply a case of changing that binary code to represent a bigger number – in this case \u20ac167,772.15.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At the time the findings were made public, the smart card manufacturer, NXP Semiconductor advised customers to adopt its Mifare Plus cards, which rely on the more secure encryption (AES-128)<\/p>\n\n\n\n