Proximity Card

Abstract

The extensive use of proximity cards today by most of the companies and people offer their users the dual advantage of both the access controls i.e. logical as well as physical. They are easy to use as they simply require to be waived in front of the card readers instead of swiping and thus saving time. The RF used in these cards can penetrate through the wallet, purse, brief case etc. and provide hands-free access thus increasing their ease to use, to a great extent. They provide us with a wide variety of functions and gaining popularity due to their high level of sophistication and great deal of convenience for a diverse range of applications from access control to time and attendance to event management to cashless and contactless payment and many more acting as an electronic purse. Besides providing so many facilities to extend the comfort level of their users these cards have to face some security implications. This paper deals with the various functionalities of proximity cards as well as the different security issues and some approaches to handle them.