What is such an extraordinary IC smart card? This has to start with its predecessor, magnetic card. Magnetic card is no stranger to us, it has entered our daily life. The special postal stored-value cards we use for making phone calls, withdrawal cards for withdrawing money and credit cards for shopping and consumption are basically magnetic cards. At present, many large and medium-sized cities in China can use credit cards to shop; Many banks and savings offices have an ATM that looks like an amusement machine. It is very convenient for users to get the cash they need with a withdrawal card. According to its structure, magnetic cards can be divided into two types. One is to stick a magnetic stripe card similar to a recording tape on the surface of a plastic card that looks like a playing card. At present, our commonly used credit cards such as "Great Wall Card" and "Peony Card" all belong to this category. The other is a magnetic card with a magnetic coating on the inner layer of vinyl plastic card, which is called a pet card. Magnetic cards are recorded in the same way as magnetic tapes and floppy disks used by computers, and all of them are recorded by digital magnetic recording. In order to complete the task of information transmission, the magnetic card must be completed by a magnetic card reader. Although magnetic cards are widely used in many fields, such as financial circulation, transportation (highway cards, subway day ticket cards, etc. ), communication (telephone magnetic card), affairs management (ID card, library card, medical magnetic card, etc. ), civil use, etc. Due to the shortcomings of small storage capacity, weak function and poor security, magnetic cards cannot meet the needs of the rapidly developing information society. With the development of VLSI and mass storage chip technology, IC cards have been widely used abroad since 1980s. Experts predict that IC card replacing magnetic card is an inevitable trend of social development.
"IC" is the abbreviation of English IntegratedCircuit. IC card is a kind of plastic card with one or more integrated circuit chips, so it is also called electronic card. IC cards are divided into memory cards and smart cards (also called smart cards). The difference between the two is that the former has no microcomputer CPU, so it only has storage function; The latter is equipped with a chip -CPU with the shape and size similar to a coin, which can not only store information, but also process it. Because the smart card has CPU, memory and input/output components, it can be said to be a microcomputer.
Compared with magnetic cards, ic cards have the following advantages.
Reliable. The IC card reads and writes information through the contact head of the reading and writing equipment touching the contact of the integrated circuit on the card, and there are no moving parts, and there will be no phenomena such as card eating and card clamping. In addition, IC card has strong anti-interference ability and anti-magnetic and anti-static functions.
Safe. All the information that needs to be kept secret and the programs used for IC card security control are set in the non-replicable storage area to prevent external intrusion and ensure the security and confidentiality of information. In the process of making, the corresponding password is set in the card, which can effectively prevent forgery. In addition to verifying the cardholder's password (PIN for short) to ensure the safety of use, biometric authentication technology can be used to further increase security. For example, the validity of the card can be confirmed by identifying the cardholder's fingerprint, handwriting, voice, etc.
Large storage capacity. The storage capacity of IC card is generally more than 1000 times that of magnetic card. Usually it can store 3000 bytes, and now scientists plan to triple it. Therefore, a large amount of various information can be stored, and one card can be used for multiple purposes.
Flexible. The IC smart card can perform logical operations, so it can perform security authentication and operation authority authentication without connecting with the central computer. In addition, the user can request to modify the personal data stored in the IC card and inquire about the remaining amount.
Because of the above advantages, IC card has been widely used in many fields. It mainly includes: electronic payment: such as bank financial transaction card, telephone payment card, mobile phone card, TV card, medical care card, highway toll card, etc.
-Computer security control: effectively control and prevent illegal access to personal computers and workstations, illegal access to disk files and virus attacks.
—— Electronic data book: it stores a variety of information of individuals, equipment or departments, and can protect the information at different levels according to users' requirements.
-Identity verification and personnel management: it can be used for employee ID cards to verify employee identity, and also to record employee attendance, vacation and work performance.
Foreign countries began to use IC memory cards in the early 1980s. The use of IC smart cards began in the late 1980s, with France Telecom taking the lead. In just over ten years, IC cards have advanced by leaps and bounds at an alarming rate, which has brought great convenience to our lives. At present, many IC cards have the characteristics of "one card for multiple purposes". For example, the general IC card in Hainan Province of China has three functions: electronic wallet, electronic passbook and electronic credit. In the near future, we can go out as long as we put some thin cards in our pockets. IC card will truly make mankind realize the ideal of "one card in hand, traveling all over the world".