Smart Card Technology Protects You

Smart cards are often used by government agencies and private enterprises to secure physical and network access. Smart card technology uses an encrypted card (about the size of a credit card) for multifactor user authentication. Smart cards have an embedded cryptographic chip that is very difficult to replicate. As such, it is hard for an attacker to copy the smart card and use it to gain access. As long as the authorized user maintains possession of the smart card, an attack is prevented.

Companies and government agencies use smart cards to secure physical access to facilities, but they are also used to secure electronic access to secure networks, proprietary and sensitive databases, corporate email, and more. Regulatory requirements, such as the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST 800-63), define parameters for the use of smart cards and other multifactor authentication methods. Specifically, NIST 800-63 provides technical recommendations for remote electronic authentication to Federal IT systems. The NIST 800-63 requirements vary depending on the level of authentication required. NIST level 1 requires a low level of authentication, while level 4 requires strong multifactor authentication.  Smart card and other multifactor technologies used by the federal government must also be FIPS 140 certified.

If strong user authentication is required, biometric authentication might be a fit. Biometric authentication is a methodology utilized to uniquely recognize humans based upon one or more intrinsic physical or behavioral traits. It can be used as a form of multifactor authentication as part of a larger identity and access management system which might also include smart cards. Common forms of biometric authentication include fingerprint matching, retinal scanning, and voice print. Recently, some biometric authentication products have emerged which use typing patterns (things like the speed and force with which a user types) as a biometric identifier.

Biometric authentication does have one major disadvantage. Once it is compromised, biometric data cannot be changed. For example, if a user's fingerprint or voiceprint is stolen, perhaps from the biometric reading device, the user cannot use that biometric method as a valid means of authentication ever again. While a new smart card can be issued to a user, a new fingerprint or voiceprint cannot.