2008 Woodie Awards
New identification cards pose unknown threat
Issue date: 4/13/07 Section: Opinion
When new technology is introduced, discussion escalates about its features, benefits and drawbacks. Beginning this fall, identification cards, as SRU knows them, are no more. The university will introduce new radio frequency identification (RFID) cards next year. A number of positives exist with the implementation of the new ID card system. Now, students will no longer have to swipe their ID cards at campus dining halls. They will also have the added feature of using their cards at local businesses. This opportunity will give students the chance to use their Rock Dollars for purchases outside the university.
To help prevent identity theft, Social Security numbers will no longer be used-instead, students will use a random ID number with the new system. The use of pin verification numbers with the RFID cards provides extra security for students as well.
RFID cards will also provide more efficient access to students than the current ID card system. Rather than taking several seconds between each swipe of cards, lines at Boozel Dining Hall will no longer leave students stranded outside while waiting in line to eat.
Card readers will be installed at area businesses and campus vending machines, giving students the opportunity to swipe or tap their cards for service.
But while efficiency and greater access are both key features of the new system, it is just that-new. Security concerns and questions often exist with new technology. When those concerns surround a university's safety, they intensify.
Worldwide concern regarding RFID cards includes the idea that cards cannot tell the difference between one card reader and another. One concern stressed by the RFID Journal's Web site is that "hackers" can utilize homemade scanners to swipe information.
The cards can also be read from a distance. As reported in "Replacements" in this week's issue of The Rocket, the cards can be read from 350 feet. In his State of the University address, however, SRU President Robert Smith said that the cards can't be read any further than two to three feet. But since RFID cards are unproven technology in a university setting. One would think that if a company is ready to implement its cards at an academic institution, then the new technology must be safe. But no one can be certain that risk ceases to exist.
University administration must question if the benefits of this technology outweigh the risks that it presents. Some upperclassmen don't use their cards often because they live in off-campus apartments. Besides that, no official report states that the current system is flawed.
Hackers and criminals exist throughout the world. People have the opportunity to collect data on their tags without the ID holder's acknowledgment. SRU will be the first North American institution to use this new form of identification. The Rocket agrees that inserting technological advances is a good thing for the university, but extra precautions must be taken to ensure the safety of all students. If the system proves vital to the campus community, then thumbs up for those who worked to install this groundbreaking technology. All the student body can ask for is that the administration knows what it's getting into with this new system.
To help prevent identity theft, Social Security numbers will no longer be used-instead, students will use a random ID number with the new system. The use of pin verification numbers with the RFID cards provides extra security for students as well.
RFID cards will also provide more efficient access to students than the current ID card system. Rather than taking several seconds between each swipe of cards, lines at Boozel Dining Hall will no longer leave students stranded outside while waiting in line to eat.
Card readers will be installed at area businesses and campus vending machines, giving students the opportunity to swipe or tap their cards for service.
But while efficiency and greater access are both key features of the new system, it is just that-new. Security concerns and questions often exist with new technology. When those concerns surround a university's safety, they intensify.
Worldwide concern regarding RFID cards includes the idea that cards cannot tell the difference between one card reader and another. One concern stressed by the RFID Journal's Web site is that "hackers" can utilize homemade scanners to swipe information.
The cards can also be read from a distance. As reported in "Replacements" in this week's issue of The Rocket, the cards can be read from 350 feet. In his State of the University address, however, SRU President Robert Smith said that the cards can't be read any further than two to three feet. But since RFID cards are unproven technology in a university setting. One would think that if a company is ready to implement its cards at an academic institution, then the new technology must be safe. But no one can be certain that risk ceases to exist.
University administration must question if the benefits of this technology outweigh the risks that it presents. Some upperclassmen don't use their cards often because they live in off-campus apartments. Besides that, no official report states that the current system is flawed.
Hackers and criminals exist throughout the world. People have the opportunity to collect data on their tags without the ID holder's acknowledgment. SRU will be the first North American institution to use this new form of identification. The Rocket agrees that inserting technological advances is a good thing for the university, but extra precautions must be taken to ensure the safety of all students. If the system proves vital to the campus community, then thumbs up for those who worked to install this groundbreaking technology. All the student body can ask for is that the administration knows what it's getting into with this new system.
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