[80275] in Cypherpunks
Re: CC fingerprints
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Alan)
Sat May 17 22:27:52 1997
Date: Sat, 17 May 1997 18:50:11 -0700 (PDT)
From: Alan <alano@teleport.com>
To: Adam Shostack <adam@homeport.org>
Cc: harka@nycmetro.com, cypherpunks@toad.com
In-Reply-To: <199705171835.OAA23077@homeport.org>
Reply-To: Alan <alano@teleport.com>
On Sat, 17 May 1997, Adam Shostack wrote:
> harka@nycmetro.com wrote:
>
> | Their solution, called the Magneprint system, reads the millions of tiny
> | magnetic particles, which are unique on each card, says Professor Ronald
> | Indeck.
> | Each magnetic stripe on the card has two important areas. The first looks
> | like a bar code, which contains the account number. The rest is a random
> | pattern of magnetic information -- a signature that is different on every
> | card and impossible to duplicate, Indeck says.
>
> "Impossible to duplicate." Perhaps he has never heard of the
> ironing trick? (You use an iron to heat one card in the proximity of
> the other. This breaks up the cohesion of the particles on the card
> close to the iron. The magnetic field in the other card causes the
> particles to realign themselves as they cool.)
I am currious how there new system responds to wear and tear on the card.
If it is as sensitive as they claim, I bet carrying the card around in
your pocket will bang the card up enough to make it show up as a
duplicate.
Sounds like an eventual article for Risks...
