A minimal protocol with public key cryptography for identification and privacy in RFID tags

We propose a protocol that minimizes the cryptographic effort on an RFID tag without requiring a backend database record for each tag. The protocol allows a tag to identify itself only to its owner. When a product is sold, the tag ownership is changed in a secure way. Security is based on public key cryptography, which is becoming economically practical for RFID tags. With this protocol, tag owners need not share secrets with each other or any central database and therefore privacy will be provided by technology, which is inherently more robust than public policy.