PRINCETON JUNCTION, NJ -- 03/12/08 --
A recent Associated Press story and
subsequent news reports contained an important error, and the Smart Card
Alliance wants to correct the record. The stories inaccurately linked
security questions raised by a University of Virginia graduate student
about an RF-enabled chip used primarily in transit applications with the
contactless smart card technology used in financial payment cards. The
RF-enabled chip used in the U.Va. research is not the same product used in
contactless credit/debit cards and electronic passports.
Additional information on contactless financial payment card security can
be found at
http://www.smartcardalliance.org/pages/publications-contactless-payment-security-qa.
The research, presented at a hacker's conference in Germany, involved one
dimension of security in one specific product. Like many types of computer
chips, a broad range of RF-enabled and contactless smart card chips are
available, and individual system operators choose the right overall balance
of features, including security, when they design a fare collection system.
The transportation industry and its technology partners have decades of
experience and know-how to design fare payment systems that balance cost
effectiveness and security.
Industry best practices for any type of smart card system involve many
layers of security, avoiding dependency on any single element. There are
typically multiple countermeasures starting at the chip and card and going
beyond it to the reader and system level.
"The goal is to design systems so any would-be criminal breaking through
one door will simply find another, bigger locked door behind it," said
Randy Vanderhoof, executive director of the Smart Card Alliance. "As for
RF-enabled transit cards, the security is far greater than the magnetic
stripe cards and tokens they replaced."
After more than 20 years' use in billions of devices, smart card-based
technology remains the gold standard for payment and identity security
worldwide.
About the Smart Card Alliance
The Smart Card Alliance is a not-for-profit, multi-industry association
working to stimulate the understanding, adoption, use and widespread
application of smart card technology.
Through specific projects such as education programs, market research,
advocacy, industry relations and open forums, the Alliance keeps its
members connected to industry leaders and innovative thought. The Alliance
is the single industry voice for smart cards, leading industry discussion
on the impact and value of smart cards in the U.S. and Latin America. For
more information please visit http://www.smartcardalliance.org.
Media Contact:
Deb Montner
Montner & Associates
203-226-9290
dmontner@montner.com
