Smart Card/Proximity Readers Basic Mechanism Question

[engineerer]

Hi guys, I have always been confused about proximity smart cards and smart card readers, the way I understand them, I don't see how they aren't a major security problem. Smart cards are being used everywhere because of their convenience, for example, my gym card is a proximity smart card that I wave at a sensor to open the door. Now the question is how is this not a security issue? Couldn't any ill-intentioned person who got a hold of my card copy the information from it onto a new card and use the new card. Even if the information is encrypted, the person wouldn't really need to know what the information is, all he/she would need to do is be able to copy it, even in it's encrypted state, onto a different programmable smart card. Is there something I am overlooking here?

 

[lilimike]

Are you referring to RFID? or magnetic cards?
I think RFID is manly used for security access but I would think it is based on a low level of security. I think its use is mostly to log the access.
When a higher level of security is needed you would normally have to enter your own secret code along with scanning your access card.

Unfortunately for each level of security there is a level of cracking just because it reflects the law of: for each problem there is a solution!

Mike

 

[engineerer]

well I guess the principle applies to both, you need only know what the information looks like, not necessarily what it means (ie. even if it's encrypted it doesn't matter you don't need to understand the information on the card, only what it looks like)

 

[dknguyen]

Secure compared to what? It's exactly like a swipe card but more convenient. Same level of security with the same security problems, but more convenient.

 

[Reloadron]

We use **broken link removed** cards. The only thing my card does is get me through an outer turnstyle gate. I use the same card for access to other areas but the card is joined with several cypher codes for the internal boundaries. So unless you know the cypher code (exclusive to you and changed every 30 days or sooner) the card is useless beyond getting through the front gate into a non secure area. Additionally my card has my picture and the company logo. The cards aren't all that easy to counterfeit. The cards themselves are just a small building block to a larger system of security.

Ron