Skimming occurs when the attacker uses an unauthorised reader to access information on the unsuspecting victim's RFID card or tag without consent. From that point on, the attacker can control when and where unauthorised entries may occur. An eavesdropping attacker recovers the data sent during a transaction between the legitimate reader and card. In a relay attack, the invader relays communication between the reader and a tag which lets the attacker temporarily possess a 'clone' of a token, thereby allowing the assailant to gain the associated benefits.

"What's scary about all this is that the equipment used to perpetrate the above attacks can be quite inexpensive and is widely available," emphasises Scott Lindley, Fairpointe Data president. "For organisations worried about such invasions of their proximity or smart card systems, access control system manufacturers and leading integrators that deploy Fairpointe proximity/smart cards and readers can provide increased security with our Maxsecure option.

Maxsecure provides a high-security handshake, or code, between the card, tag and reader to help prevent credential duplication and ensure that your readers will only collect data from these specially coded credentials. For those familiar with mechanical access control, it's the electronic security equivalent of a mechanical key management system, in which a specific organisation is the only one that has the individual key that they use. Such keys are only available through their integrator and their integrator never provides another company with the same key.

In the Maxsecure electronic access control scenario, no other company will have the reader/card combination that only that specific organisation gets from their integrator. Only their exclusive reader will be able to read their exclusive card or tag and their reader will read no other card or tag.

Maxsecure is available now with Farpointe Pyramid proximity cards and readers and Delta smart cards and readers.