BAL Secure Contactless Cards
Ultra High Frequency (UHF) Identification Cards
The future lies in cards that work at convenient distances of up to 9 meters. Ultra High Frequency (UHF) RF identification cards use reflective technology to achieve increased read range (like toll booth tags), making them the card of choice for vehicle access at national borders and other points of entry because they can be presented at a distance and in any weather. Identity verification time is reduced and processing throughput is greatly increased.
Security Vulnerabilities are Inherent in RFID
A fundamental weakness of all contactless cards is that they can be surreptitiously read, cloned, and tracked by persons using only public information and readily available electronic surveillance equipment. These inherent vulnerabilities extend to proximity cards, vicinity cards, and UHF longer distance cards.
The ISO/IEC 14443 standard calls for a 10 cm read distance from the reader to the card. This range is achieved assuming that a regulation 1/2 watt transceiver is used to excite the card. By raising the transmitted power, it is possible to extend the read distance to 6 feet – far enough that an antenna can "skim" the RFID chip through plasterboard and even into the wallets of unsuspecting passersby. If that wallet contains an electronic passport, then the unique data stored on the chip (name, address, nationality, passport number, etc) can now be easily accessed by identity thieves, kidnappers and even terrorists.
The early defense against misuse of proximity cards was to transmit a code to the card and have the card return an encrypted response. Unfortunately, this can be defeated by using a "relay attack". Use of protective sleeves is one solution, but experience has shown that cardholders forget, misplace or simply do not use the sleeves when the card is not in use.
The BAL Secure Contactless Card with Personal Privacy Activation
Because ordinary RF card data can be surreptitiously interrogated, it is important to make sure that the card is totally disabled and electronically silent until the cardholder needs to activate the card. The BAL Privacy Activation feature, contains a user-activated, circuit connection button, which is embedded in standard high frequency and ultra-high frequency cards. It completely disables RF functionality of the card's loop antenna circuit until the privacy activation button on the card is squeezed.
Technical Structure
The mechanical squeeze button employs a patent-pending technology comprised of user-actuated switch coupled to a chip / antenna assembly. When the switch is depressed, the conductive switch membrane embedded in the card will close the circuit in the antenna loop so that the proximity card can receive signals from a reader. The antenna is operable only when the squeeze button is held in the closed position during data transmission. When the finger is not pressing the button, an elastic stop returns the switch to the open position, disabling the antenna. The switch mechanism is designed to create a Faraday shield around the chip, protecting it against unwanted access.
Applications
Because of the patent-pending technology, the baiMobile®™ Secure Contactless Cards can now be deployed by governments and other organizations for personal identification applications (border crossing cards, driver licenses, etc) and physical access control where concern about data privacy is vital.
About Biometric Associates
Biometric Associates, LP is a unique developer, manufacturer, and integrator of authentication and identity systems that have been specifically designed to provide a high level of security and privacy protection. BAL systems, including related cryptographic, PKI and RFID implementations, provide assured user confirmation. They can be integrated into Bluetooth smart card readers, RFID Contactless cards, biometric USB thumb drives, Internet authentication servers and electronic monitoring systems, as well as other logical and physical access control applications.
BAL technical staffs are experienced wireless communications protocol specialists, application programmers, electrical engineers, and cryptography experts. The Company has offices in Maine and in the Washington, DC area.