In the virtual world of the Internet, being a little paranoid isn’t a bad idea. There are people out to get you, or at least have a crack at your personal information. For a Toronto
business this is true as well. Your company or organization is a prime target no matter the industry. Criminal hackers are hoping to find data. To get this data, a thief needs access and the best way to prevent is multiple levels of security. One of the strongest solutions for verifying identity before allowing access is smart card authentication. This method is popular for many reasons, and is simple to implement.
Stronger Authentication
Using a smart card authentication is perhaps one of the easiest verification methods from the standpoint of an end user. The card is already embedded with a computer chip containing the data necessary for authorization. A simple swipe of the card against a reader transmits the data to the reader. From the reader, the information travels to the computer or networked system and if the data are correct, the user is granted access. Typically this will involve another step. The person wanting access will also have to log on or follow a similar step in order to have various degrees of access.
To implement this system, all the client connections using the card must be SSL enabled. These common access cards can be setup using Windows technology, or through a security provider.
A Better Standard of Security
Smart card authentication is a relatively new idea in the United States and Canada, but in Europe they have proved a successful and popular means of security. The card protects both the data from a computer system, and can also be useful to protect private information about the user. For this reason, in several countries card authority is used for banking and health insurance. In Germany every citizen is issued such a card. Since the information is embedded in a chip rather the magnetic strip, the data is more stored more security, and is less vulnerable to physical damage.
Comparing Chips to Strips
Not only are magnetic strips easier to damage physically, these can be hard for machines to read for a number of reasons. Strips can also be deleted or changed with equipment a thief can buy in any electronics store in any major city such as Toronto. The move toward a card with an embedded chip is slow, but many Canadians a now opting for it in light of these obvious risks with magnetic strips. Electronic cash transactions, banking, and even government identification may soon all involve a change to using embedded chips.
Similar Authentication Applications
Other devices can be used in the same manner as a smart card. Some Toronto institutions allow access with authorization similar to the embedded chip in the card using mobile phones or other devices. Because the chips are small, the card doesn’t need to be any bigger or thicker than the average credit card. The chip can even be embedded in an employee ID card. This makes the card easier to carry than a set of keys. With the embedded chip, it’s also simple to track the use of the card, or make changes to authority as needed without having immediate access to it. Implementing this smart card authentication technology is better to do proactively to counteract hacking, rather than after sustaining a financial loss due to a security breach.