“Who goes there?”

Recently a retired New York City policeman was allowed entry into a secured Department of Homeland Security (DHS) building to meet with DHS personnel. He used a fake ID card that did not have his correct personal data encoded on the card. He did this to show how easy it is to gain illegal access to facilities and to secured data sources. While no harm was done in this case, it points out the need for improved ID card security especially as the country moves increasingly toward providing service on line or through unattended kiosks.

In a parallel situation, many schools are relying on their ID card to provide the needed security while opening up their meal plans and vending services to allow more flexible and convenient use of these facilities by students. Other schools are considering using their ID card as an indication that a person actually attended a class, took a test, paid for a ticket or belonged in a building. Lost cards and copied cards can have a negative impact on the security of these card applications.

Now many of us have either lost a card or had a card stolen. For example, several weeks ago my wife lost her purse at a Midwest airport. Within a few hours we had notified all the card issuers and her cards were cancelled before they could be used. Likewise, all students know how to get in touch with the University’s card office to stop a card and get it replaced. This service is used more frequently than we might expect and lost cards are “alive” for only a short time.

Technology has brought us a new problem as the data on any good card can be copied or “skimmed” in seconds without the legitimate cardholder ever knowing it. Then, like the case of the New York policeman, a fraudulent card is made that provides the thief with illegal access to all the legitimate cardholder’s entitlements. The theft remains unnoticed perhaps for weeks until a financial statement is received showing the illegal charges. By then the horse is way out of the barn, much too late to recover the losses.

The good news is that there is a straightforward way to eliminate this threat. MagnePrint^® technology from MagTek, Inc. detects copied cards at the point of use and enables the University to immediately deny illegal access to services. MagnePrint does it all without recarding your campus. An additional feature of the MagnePrint solution is students do not have to give up any personal data, like fingerprints or other biometric identifiers, for the security system to work. It’s the copied card that is detected and all illegal access is eliminated!

With MagnePrint you can tell that the card being used is actually the card that was issued by the card office!

As always, it’s always good to know….”who goes there?”