CARD AUTHENTICATION SYSTEM

• US 20080215887A1
• Filed: 11/06/2007
• Published: 09/04/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 11/06/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Magtek Incorporated, Washington University In St Louis
• Original Assignee: Washington University In St Louis
• Inventors: Meyers, Lawrence R., Hart, Annmarie D., Indeck, Ronald S., Richter, Edward J., Morley, Robert E., Hernandez, Carlos
• Granted Patent: US 8,447,991 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 713/172
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/347 Passive cards
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/08 by coded identity card or credit card or other personal identification means without personal verification means G07F7/02
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/0813 Specific details related to card security
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/086 by passive credit-cards adapted therefor, e.g. constructive particularities to avoid counterfeiting, e.g. by inclusion of a physical or chemical security-layer for security documents G07D7/00; for the reading of record-carriers in general G06K7/00; for the design of coded credit-cards G06K19/10
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/12 Card verification

Abstract

A card authentication system. In one embodiment, the invention relates to a method for authenticating a data card having an intrinsic magnetic characteristic and recorded data on the data card, the method including reading information from the data card, the data card information including the intrinsic magnetic characteristic and the recorded data on the data card, encrypting the data card information, sending the encrypted data card information, receiving the encrypted data card information, decrypting a portion of the encrypted data card information, the portion including the intrinsic magnetic characteristic, generating a score indicative of a degree of correlation between the intrinsic magnetic characteristic of the data card information and a stored value, and determining an authenticity of the data card based at least in part on the score.

Claims

1. A system for authenticating a data card having an intrinsic magnetic characteristic and recorded data on the data card, the system comprising:

a reader configured to read information from the data card, the data card information comprising the intrinsic magnetic characteristic and the recorded data;

a network coupled to the reader; and

a scoring system coupled to the network, the scoring system configured to;

receive a portion of the data card information encrypted, the portion comprising at least the intrinsic magnetic characteristic of the data card;

decrypt the portion; and

provide a score indicative of a degree of correlation between the intrinsic magnetic characteristic of the received data card information and a stored value;

wherein an authenticity of the data card is determined based at least in part on the score.

2. The authentication system of claim 1, wherein the scoring system is configured to provide a score indicating failure when the intrinsic magnetic characteristic of the received data card information exactly matches the stored value.

3. The authentication system of claim 1, wherein the scoring system is configured to provide the score indicative of a degree of correlation between the intrinsic magnetic characteristic of the received data card information and a plurality of stored values.

4. The authentication system of claim 3:

wherein the data card information comprises information obtained from at least one reading of the data card;

wherein the scoring system is configured to provide a score indicating failure when any two values of the intrinsic magnetic characteristic of the received data card information and the plurality of stored values exactly match.

5. The authentication system of claim 1, wherein a score above a predetermined minimum is indicative of an authentic data card.

6. The authentication system of claim 1, wherein the intrinsic magnetic characteristic is a remanent noise characteristic.

7. The authentication system of claim 1, wherein the scoring system is further configured authenticate the reader.

8. The authentication system of claim 1, wherein the scoring system is further configured to authenticate the reader using a mutual authentication process.

9. The authentication system of claim 1, further comprising:

a terminal coupled to the reader;

wherein the terminal is configured to;

encrypt the data card information and transaction information; and

send the encrypted information to an authentication server coupled to the scoring system.

10. The authentication system of claim 9, wherein the authentication server is configured to:

authenticate the transaction information;

send at least a portion of the encrypted data card information to the scoring server;

receive the score from the scoring server; and

send the score to the terminal.

11. The authentication system of claim 9, wherein the authentication server is configured to authenticate the terminal based on a Media Access Control address.

12. The authentication system of claim 9, wherein the authentication server is configured to authenticate the terminal using a mutual authentication process.

13. The authentication system of claim 9, wherein the authenticity of the data card is determined, at the terminal, based at least in part on the score.

14. The authentication system of claim 1, further comprising an authorization server coupled to the scoring system, wherein the authenticity of the data card is determined, at the authorization server, based at least in part on the score.

15. The authentication system of claim 1, wherein:

the scoring system is configured to provide, at a first location, the score indicative of the degree of correlation between the intrinsic magnetic characteristic of the received data card information and the stored value;

wherein the authenticity of the data card is determined, at a second location, based at least in part on the score; and

wherein the first location is different from the second location.

16. A method for authenticating a data card having an intrinsic magnetic characteristic and recorded data on the data card, the method comprising:

reading information from the data card, the data card information comprising the intrinsic magnetic characteristic and the recorded data on the data card;

encrypting the data card information;

sending the encrypted data card information;

receiving the encrypted data card information;

decrypting a portion of the encrypted data card information, the portion comprising the intrinsic magnetic characteristic;

generating a score indicative of a degree of correlation between the intrinsic magnetic characteristic of the data card information and a stored value; and

determining an authenticity of the data card based at least in part on the score.

17. The method for authenticating a data card of claim 16, wherein the generating a score includes generating a score indicative of a failure when the intrinsic magnetic characteristic of the received data card information exactly matches the stored value.

18. The method for authenticating a data card of claim 16, wherein the generating a score includes generating a score indicative of a degree of correlation between the intrinsic magnetic characteristic of the data card information and a plurality of stored values.

19. The method for authenticating a data card of claim 18:

wherein the data card information comprises information obtained from at least one reading of the data card;

wherein the generating a score includes generating a score indicative of a failure when any two values of the intrinsic magnetic characteristic of the received data card information and the plurality of stored values exactly match.

20. The method for authenticating a data card of claim 16, wherein the generating a score includes generating a score indicative of an acceptable correlation when the score is above a predetermined minimum.

21. The method for authenticating a data card of claim 16, wherein the intrinsic magnetic characteristic is a remanent noise characteristic.

22. The method for authenticating a data card of claim 16, wherein the reading information from the data card comprises reading information from the data card using a reader, the method further comprising authenticating the reader.

23. The method for authenticating a data card of claim 22, wherein the authenticating the reader comprises authenticating the reader using a mutual authentication process.

24. The method for authenticating a data card of claim 16, further comprising:

providing information related to a card transaction, the transaction information comprising the data card information; and

authenticating the card transaction based on the transaction information.

25. The method for authenticating a data card of claim 24, wherein the providing information related to a card transaction comprises providing information related to a card transaction using a terminal, the method further comprising:

authenticating the terminal based on a Media Access Control address.

26. The method for authenticating a data card of claim 24, wherein the providing information related to a card transaction comprises providing information related to a card transaction using a terminal, the method further comprising:

authenticating the terminal using a mutual authentication process.

27. The method for authenticating a data card of claim 16:

wherein the generating the score indicative of the degree of correlation between the intrinsic magnetic characteristic of the data card information and the stored value is performed at a first location;

wherein the determining the authenticity of the data card based at least in part on the score is performed at a second location; and

wherein the first location is different from the second location.

28. The method for authenticating a data card of claim 27, wherein:

wherein the encrypting the data card information and the sending the encrypted data card information are performed at a terminal; and

wherein the second location is the terminal.

29. The method for authenticating a data card of claim 27, wherein:

wherein the receiving the encrypted data card information is performed at an authorization server; and

wherein the second location is the authorization server.

30. A method for providing a score for a data card having an intrinsic magnetic characteristic and recorded data on the data card, the method comprising:

receiving information related to the data card, the data card information comprising encrypted information comprising the intrinsic magnetic characteristic and the recorded data on the data card;

decrypting a portion of the encrypted information, the portion comprising the intrinsic magnetic characteristic;

generating a score indicative of a degree of correlation between the intrinsic magnetic characteristic of the data card information and a stored value.

31. The method of claim 30, wherein the score is a numerical value.

32. The method of claim 31, wherein the numerical value is a value with a range from 0 to 100.