What is the major weakness of a bar code card system?

Question

Options

• AThe cards are expensive.
• BThe cards interfere with RFID systems.
• CIt is relatively easy to duplicate the cards.
• DRunning a magnet next to a card reader will disrupt the accuracy of the reader.

• A
  4% (1)
• B
  4% (1)
• C
  79% (19)
• D
  13% (3)

Explanation

Bar code cards can be duplicated with nothing more than a standard barcode scanner and printer, making them fundamentally insecure as an access control mechanism - anyone who briefly obtains your card can reproduce it cheaply and quickly. A is wrong because barcode cards are actually among the cheapest physical access credentials available. B is wrong because barcodes are optical systems (they use light/lasers to read printed patterns) and have no electromagnetic interaction with RFID systems. D is wrong because magnets affect magnetic stripe cards, not barcode cards - barcodes are read optically, so magnetism is irrelevant.

Memory tip: Think "bar code = bar none security" - the optical nature that makes them cheap and simple is the same reason they're easy to copy. If you can photograph it, you can clone it.

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