smart cards are widely considered to be one of the most secure and reliable forms of electronic identification (ID) tokens. the smart card includes an embedded integrated circuit chip, which can be a microcontroller chip with internal memory or a separate secure memory chip. the card communicates with the reader either through direct physical contact or by communicating with a remote contactless electromagnetic field that excites the chip and transmits data between the card and the reader. Using an embedded microcontroller, the smart card has the unique ability to store large amounts of data, perform its own on-card functions (such as data storage and management, encryption, decryption and digital signature calculation), and interact with the smart card intelligent reader.

Why are smart cards better than other ID token technologies?

smart card ID can combine multiple ID technologies, including embedded chips, visual security tokens, magnetic stripes, bar codes and/or optical stripes. By combining these various technologies into smart card ID tokens, the resulting IDs can support both future and traditional physical and logical access applications. they can also support other applications that have traditionally required separate ID processes and tokens.

Biometrics are used in many new identity management systems to improve the accuracy of identifying individuals. How can smart cards be used to ensure the privacy of biometric-based systems?

smart cards provide a very effective mechanism to protect the privacy of individuals with systems that use biometric identities.

Biometric information can be stored on a smart card rather than in an online database, allowing the biometric owner the opportunity to manage the physical possession of the card holding the individuals biometric information.

State-of-the-art encryption technology can be used to protect biometric data while providing full three-factor authentication at the card/reader level.

What you have - a card with all the security features

What you know - password or personal identification number (PIN)

What you are - biometric

In smart card-based applications, instead of passing stored biometric information to the reader for matching, an individuals biometrics can be captured by the reader and passed to the smart card for matching. the individuals biometric information never leaves the card and there is virtually no possibility of compromise.

In non-smart card based applications, the password or PIN and biometric would be stored in an online database outside of the individuals control, and the biometric information would be captured and passed to the application for matching.