See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/4105632 Multi-purpose student card system using smart card technology Conference Paper · January 2004 DOI: 10.1109/ITHET.2004.1358229 · Source: IEEE Xplore CITATIONS READS 26 18,779 2 authors, including: Samir Omar 15 PUBLICATIONS 60 CITATIONS SEE PROFILE All content following this page was uploaded by Samir Omar on 18 December 2014. The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file. Multi-Purpose Student Card System Using Smart Card Technology : S. Ornar, Member, IEEE, H. Djuhari T h e University of New South Wales UNSW, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia (omar, hdju784)@cse.unsw.edu.au~ - Smart cards have been around for a while now; it has been mainly used to store some kind of monetary value. Currently smart cards can he seen in the transportation, telecommunication and ietail sectors. This paper aims to design a student card system for an educational institute using smart card technology that can he usable in the transportation, retail and educational sectors. The smart card will he used as means for identification, security and cash. From there we can see the potential and power of smart cards their versatility, practicality and usability. Abstract institutes and abolish the current problem of having multiple cards with the same use. The next section will give background information on smart cards and their advantages magnetic strip cards, Afterwards 3 highlights the motivation of this papperand the benefits of adopting smart card technology.' ,Section 4 over. ~ describes the overall Of the system and Ihe implementation of the student card and the applications. Finally section S is the conclusion. 1. INTRODUCTION 11. SMART CARDS VS MAGNETIC STRIP CARDS Currently student cards are implemented with either magnetic strip or ordinary plastic cards which have very limited or no space to store data and most have one use,i.e. as an identification card. Smart cards have a great advantage over magnetic strip cards in space, security, reliability and functionality [I].As mentioned above magnetic strip cards have very low storage mainly a few bytes and in general smart cards can store hundred times more information than magnetic. With more space to store information, smart cards can have more use and may be more versatile than magnetic cards, in addition to being a student identification card it could also be used to store monetary values such as a cash card for retail and as an access card to login to computers and enter rooms. Smart cards have the benefits of storing comprehensive records with the advantages of accuracy and reliability, in other words it can he seen as a mobile d a t a h e . Currently smart card implementations can he seen around the world hut they are not unified i.e. each developer uses different programming standards and data structures, therefore a variety of smart cards exist in our society today. An example can be seen in Singapore where they have variety of smart card for the same purpose i.e. storing monetary value. One called E 2 Link is used for their public transport system and is also usable in some food courts while the other cash cards are used for their toll system ERP, parking and supermarkets. This is a problem that exists today and one that needs to be noted or fixed. Our,aim is to create a student card system'using sman card technology that is to be implemented in educational institutes in other words a card with many uses. This will enhance the current student cards that can be seen in many educational 0-7803-8596-9/04/$20.00 02'004 IEEE 527 A Smart Card is a piece of plastic the size of a credit card that has a computer chip embedded on or in it. The card can be programmed to store data or information as well as to perform specific tasks. Smart cards have a greater use than their relatives the magnetic strip cards; they are designed to do greater things. Smart cards can be programmed to he used in more than one area e.g. as an identification card and cash card while magnetic strips mostly has one use in addition to that smart cards can .he used in multiple industries. Although smart card's main use is the same as a magnetic strip cards they have certain advantages over them, these are: More reliable than a magnetic strip card Can store hundred'times more information than a magnetic strip card More secure or higher security Disposable and reusable Multiple functions over wide range of industries Compatible with many consumer electronics . . 111. MOTIVATION Take a look in your wallet and what do you find? Notes, coins, a driver's license, a library card and more cards. Soon all these documents will he replaced by just two or three smart cards because they can store and protect relatively large amounts of data. Smart cards are being used in a number of ways around the world, replacing a wallet's content bit by hit [2]. By adopting smart card technology one card can be used for all. Many organizations including educational institutes such as universities currently use magnetic strip cards as their means for identification and not many applications have been created or implemented that uses these particular cards. , There is insufficient numbers of applications that work with the current student cards in universities which results in the benefits of the cards not being recognized or used, in addition to this problem the current implementation i.e. the magnetic strip cards are not secure, reliable, flexible nor versatile therefore there must be a reform in the current system. Fig. 1, illustrates some uses of smart cards in an educational institute, as seen below it will have some func!ionalities that you will recognize with a few extras. A. Types <$Smart Cards Currently smart cards can be categorized as either contact or contactless. Contact smart cards are programmed using a reader that connects to the computer chip on the card. While contactless smart cards communicate through radio waves via a built in antenna to an external receiver similar to a reader mentioned before. Contact smart cards have an advantage over contactless based on its cost but contactless are more efficient and convenient for the users. Contact smart cards were chosen for this implementation since programming can be done with ease and its advantage on cost over contactless. Although in reality contactless would be more ideal for the student card system. Contact smart cards can thenibe broken into two groups one that has both a microprocessor and a memory chip and one that has only a mernory.chip with non-programmable logic. The microprocessor cards are able to manipulate and alter the data inside the card while a memory chip cards can only undertake pre-defined operations, with that note microprocessor cards would be better suited for the student card system. With the reasons given above the microprocessor based contact smart cards were used for the implementation. Drh cud Fig. I . Overview diagram ofthe Student Card System The new student card system is designed’to benefit students as well as the university. The system is intended to supersede the old magnetic student.card system. .Although features of the old magnetic student card system will carry on, new features will also be implemented. As noted in section 2 smart cards have a huge advantage on magnetic strip cards in security, storage, reliability, versatility and functionality. By using smart card technology the student card will be more powerful, more versatile, more secure and more reliab]e.,,The student card will be used in the areas of security, retail and identification around the university and i n the sectors of transportation and retail in the general community. IV. APPROACH The proposed system can be implemented in educational organizations, the prototype created was to illustrate how the system operates and interact with the users so an environment had to he chosen, that environment is a university. Designing a smart card system for a university requires the design of the card itself such as what card t use, what data it should store, what security features to use and finally the applications that works with the card. ’ B. File Structure To manage all the data that is to be stored in the smart card, they must be grouped or categorized so that data can be retrieved, altered and managed easily and efficiently. Four files are necessary for this purpose, they are listed below: Identification - First name, Last name, Student ID & Degree code Status - Card status (Enabled or Disabled), Student type, Expired date Extras - Telephone & Address Transport - EnterExit, Time last used, Date last used, Transport ID (Route) Some smart cards which are microprocessor based already have an account data structure for managing monetary values i.e. a file has already been created for this purpose and transactions (account inquire, credit, debit) are done through the card’s own internal commands. But if a particular smart card does not have this feature. an extra file should be created to manage the monetary funds that are to be stored i n the card. Each file has different levels of access so that privacy of the cardholder can be respected and security be implemented. For example the identification file will be able to be read by anyone since the data stored in file are not confidential and are used in nearly all applications but write access will only be given to card administrators to protect the consistency and accuracy of data. Reading and ,writing access will be protected by several secret codes, the code must be submitted before any actions can he performed. C. Securit?; Security is a big issue with smart cards as the cards can be used for manipulation and fraud; there is even a greater risk if the card is to be used to store monetary values. To provide the resources to identified users is quite important. thus in order to protect these resources from any unauthorized access both user authentication and access control are required for resource protection in distributed computer systems [3]. Different cards have different security features. The features that exist with the cards used for the implementation includes authentication, single and triple DES encryption, MAC checksums Qnd secret codes such as PIN. Fig. 2. shows the algorithm of how the student card is initialized while the screenshot of the actual application is illustrated in Fig. 3. D. Application This section will go through all the applications implemented for the proposed student card system. Some applications such as Login and Tutorial Attendances are meant for educational organizations while Shop and Transport are designed for the public arena. Altogether seven applications were created. Currently there are a few programming standards available for smart cards, they are: Personal Computer / Smart Cards (PC/SC) JavaCard OpenCard Framework (OCR. ' PC/SC was created by Microsoft and is a smart card application interface for communicating with s m m cards from window based platforms but it does not support other'platforms. Building on' the same spirit as the original Java, Sun has developed the lava Card API Specification, to facilitate the concept of "write once, run on all cards". It allows Java applets to run directly on the card and enables chip independent execution of different applications. OpenCard Framework '(OCF) is a standard framework announced by an Industry consortium that provides for interoperable smmt cards solutions across many hardware and software platforms [4]. As I will be using lava for my implementation OCF would be ideal since OCF itself is 100% lava so guarantees full compatibility. OCF is also open source therefore would provide great support and no fees. Finally it suppons both OCF and PC/SC devices therefore more choice on hardware. The OpenCard Framework will be used for the communication between the application and smart card. All applications were created with JAVA and OCF. a. Fig. 2. Flowchart to initialize student card Initialize card This application is basically to personalize and initialize the card i.e. to create the student card. The application will initialize all secret codes and references for authentication and. create the necessary user data files. Once the user data files have been created personal data can then be written to the card. Section 4.2 talks about these user data files. 529 Fig. 3. Screenshot of the Initialize card application required to insert their card into the designated reader. The application will then verify the id if the id exist appropriate records will besreated else the cardholder is denied to borrow the hooks. h. . Login Login as the name suggest is an application that allows cardholders to access computers or any other accounts around the university. It requires the cardholder to simply insert their student card into the designated reader once done the system verities the id if the id exists the cardholder k t h e n asked to submit the pin and,then verified: If the pin is correct access is granted otherwise denied. As a ,security feature incorrect pins can be entered only so many times, if the limit is exceeded the card will he blocked. To logout or lock the, workstation the user will be required to remove the student card when that action has been completed then the student will have those options. Fig. 4. shows the algorithm of how the student card can be used to record attendances while screenshot of the actual application is illustrated in Fig. S. c - - -- A - P ii. - - - s Recharge cash card The Recharge Station is used to add value into the account structure of the card. A limit is created so that a card may not he abused. To start up the application the cardholder is required to insert their card once done .the balance is displayed. The cardholder then specifies the amount to be inserted if the new balance exceeds. the maximum value an error is prompted else the value will he added. To exit the session the user is required to remove their card from the reader. Fig. 7. shows'the algorithm of how the student card can be used to record. attendances while screenshot of the actual application is illustrated in Fig. 6. Inylf.n,&*tcnd , 1 Ba.m:m -. ___.. Fig. 6 . Screenshot of Recharge Applicalion iii. Shop Fig. 4. Flowchart for Login Application' . . i. Librurj' , The Library-application works like any system found in a Library but much simpler. Firstly all the hooks that are to he borrowed are all entered into the system then the cardholder~is 530 The ever increasing growth of virtual business world will lead to more and more electronic based payment systems [SI. In the future one or more cards will be used for a wide variety of purposes, not only in electronic commerce [5]. The student card will nor only be used for identification hut will be adopted in the retail sectors as a method of electronic payment . . . Shop is basically an app:icatidn that can be used in shops and food courts. The strticture is.?implc all the products being bought must firstly be entered it will.11m calculate the total and asks the customer to insert :their card. t LC itF$icntioii will firstly check the balance.of the card if there is insufficient funds an error is prompted else the total will be deducted from the card. . of the smart card in this industry will try t o improve the following [7]: . . reducing fare abuse e.g. short payment' improving ridership data i.e. data generated from fares can . . be used as a mean for surveying flexibility e.g. all cards will be usable in all routes security e.g. ability to track transactions convenience for customers: since the cards can be used for all routes and customers will not have. to worry about carrying the exact change ~ v I ,E3 Aadunhbi.ra m#lyor. b.hrnrnowrrril Fig. 8. Flowchart for Tuturial Appliration Fig. 1.Flowchart for Recharge Application io. -- TuutoridAnr,zdmcr The card can he used with applications to record attendances in meetings, at work or in our situation to record all students that attended a particular class. Fig. 8. shows the algorithm of how the student card can be used to record attendances while screenshot of the actual application is illustrated in Fig. 9. In many cases conventional means o f fare collection are lahour intensive, insecure. and cause delays in both travel and boarding and are relatively inflexible [6]. To solve this problem the student cards are used as a means for calculating and collecting fares. By using smart cards collecting fares will be more efficient and secure and by the flexibility of the card it will bring convenience to the pessengers. The design and adoption MI". -na. -. )[.-&=, L ( I "b'L19__J Fig. 9. Screenshot of Tutorial Application 531 v. Transporr Transport is an application that calculates and collects transport fares. It requires passengers to insert their card when entering and exiting the vehicle. The student card has a user file Transport that contains data about the transportation details such as the transport identification, entedexit flag and last date and time the card was used. Fig. IO. shows the algorithm of how rhe student card works as a fare card while the screenshot of the actual application is illustrated in Fig. 1 I . Fig. I I . Screemhot of Transpon Application v. CONCLUSION The implementation is just the beginning of what could he achieved with smart cards. As seen in the implementation smart cards will improve security in general, efficiency caused by a cashless society, data consistency and functionality of the student card. Through the applications we can see how versatile, practical and usable smart cards are and how they can improve the environment they were introduced in. Education as shown in the implementation is just one sector where smart cards can he adopted others can also take on the adoption to improve their functionality and usability. REFERENCES ‘I -on [I] Rinaldo Di Giorgio, :Smart cards: A primer”, JavaWorld i December 1995, http://www.javaworld.com/javaworld/jw-l2- 1997/jw-12-javadev_p.html [2] Carol Hovenga Fancher, “In Your Pocket: Smart Cards”, IEEE Spectrum, February 1997 [3] Nam-Yih Lee, “Integrating Access Control With User Authentication Using Smart Cards”, IEEE Transactions on Consumer Electronics, Vol46, No. 4, November 2000 [41 Opencard Framework, “Opencard Framework 1.2 General Information Web Document”, OpenCard Consortium, October Fig. IO.Flowchart far Transporl Applicati?” As shown the application can also detect fare abuse and take the appropriate actions. Fares are deducted when exiting the vehicle and if a passenger ignores this step the application will be aware the next time the passenger enters another vehicle since the previous transport information is recorded inside the card. When found out a fine will he given to the passenger, i.e. the application will automatically deduct an amount from the card. 1998 [ 5 ] Karin Schier, “Multifunctional Sman Cards For Electronic Commerce - Application Of The Role and Task Based Security Model”, Computer Security Applications Conference, December 1998 161 Phil Blythe, “Integrating Ticketing - Smart Cards In Transport”, IEEE Colloquium: Using ITS in Public Transport and in Emergency Services, December 1998 [7] N. 0. Attoh-Okine, L. David .Shen, “Security Issues’ of Emerging Smart Cards Fare Collection Application in Mass Transit”, ‘Vehicle Navigation and Information Systems’ Conference. 1995. ‘A Ride into the Future’, July 1995 532 View publication stats