A recent announcement researchers made about the uniqueness nano-structure of every document got me thinking about another technology from Mag-tek, MagnePrint.
Both technologies provide a way of uniquely identifying the fundamental makeup of individual credentials, paper and magstripes. With each of these, the actual structure of the document operates as a seed string for a hash, creating a unique “fingerprint” for that document.
The ultimate goal of secure documents is information integrity. As technology advocates we often get enamored with the high tech solutions. Maybe these two technologeis are enough to ensure the integrity of the document. Although simple, forgery becomes a practical impossibility. Even better, the costs are borne almost entirely on the issuance and reader infrastructure. Nothing beats paper and magstripe when it comes to ease and cost of issuance.
There are still good reasons to have some sort of smarts in documents like passports. However, the RFID component that so many privacy advocates rail against may not be the most secure solution. How about a contact smart card embedded in the document?
As technologists we like the most cutting edge solutions. If the real goal is maximizing security, are we obligated to advocate the solution that gives us the best bang for our security dollar? Lower credential costs means more dollars to spend on cameras or guards, two proven security technologies. Something to think about.
Wired News: Fraud Roshambo: Paper Beats RFID
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