Electronic key card. Keys and access cards. What are the keys

Access keys can be radio-controlled key fobs, contact keys "tablets" and contactless identifiers, which in the most common case are presented in the form of cards and key fobs, but there are also versions in the form of tickets, stickers, labels and others. Identifiers in the form of bracelets intended for use in sports complexes are also becoming more common.

RFID-identifiers

Radio Frequency IDentification - a method of auto-identification of objects by means of radio signals with reading or writing data stored in RFID tags.

Passive RFID tags work without a built-in power source. The current induced in the ID antenna by the reader's electromagnetic field provides enough power to operate the CMOS chip located in the tag and send a response signal. The chip can be installed in any case: a card, a keychain, a bracelet or a sticker (sticker). The most common chip standards are: . Emmarine. HID. I code . mifare. Temic. The maximum reading radius of passive identifiers depends on the operating frequency range and antenna dimensions and ranges from 10 to 100 cm.

Most of the cards used in access control and management systems contain a unique identification number that is written to the chip at the factory and remains read-only. When using smart cards, in addition to their serial number, the data recorded in the non-volatile area is also used, which practically eliminates the possibility of an identifier forgery. Rewritable cards allow recording with both open protocol and cryptography. Thus, the organization of ACS based on smart cards can significantly increase the level of security in general.

RFID identifiers have the following features:

• line of sight or contact is not required to read information
• the process of reading information is fast and accurate
• the technology also works in harsh environments, and identifiers can be read through paint, dirt, plastic, wood, water or steam
• unlimited service life
• smart cards are almost impossible to counterfeit
• the ability to record a sufficiently large amount of information on cards with recording support

The most common identifier formats

Clamshell Map

• overall dimensions 86x54x1.6 mm
• the most economical solution compared to other types of cards
• the possibility of personalizing the card using a special sticker with lamination
• slot for easy card attachment

ISO map

• overall dimensions 86x54x0.8 mm
• high-quality PVC plastic surface for printing a graphic image (photo, text, logo)
• direct sublimation or offset printing
• Standard credit card dimensions and thickness allow magnetic stripe models to work with standard slot-type readers

Trinket

• small size
• Can be worn on a ring with keys
• various body colors
• possibility to apply a logo

A magnetic key card is an identifier with a code. It is used to determine the right of access to the premises or to record working hours. In the first case, a lock and a reader are installed, in the second, a special terminal is used.

Chips embedded in magnetic cards are the keys to the doors of a closed facility thanks to a programmed identifier. The device, when brought to the reader of the system, transmits a pulse with this information.

Read completely

Magnetic coded key or card can be:

• contact type - a chip is used;
• non-contact - there is a strip on the surface for presentation to the reader (it is carried out in the detector zone).

Coded devices are sold in packs of 50 and 200. This is enough to organize a checkpoint or accounting system at the enterprise. Each employee receives their own pass. The surface of such an accessory is white, it can be applied with a company logo or personalized information about a person. The range includes access devices in the form of key fobs.

An electromagnetic door lock should be purchased to complete the access system. A reader or intercom is installed outside, which gives a signal to open the door. Closers will help keep it open for a while and avoid hard slamming. You can also choose an electromagnetic lock in the Komus catalog, the indicated price of the goods is relevant when ordering online. Wholesale shipments are delivered free of charge.

(“tablets”, or magnetic keys, as they are most often called) are the smallest components of an access control system. Thanks to them, employees of your enterprise or specialists with access to certain premises will be able to exercise the right of access. There are several types of magnetic keys that allow you to cross the range of an access control system.

Magnetic keys, key bracelets, radio key fobs and key fobs - which is better to choose?

The choice of the desired category of cards and keys - whether magnetic, radio key fobs or bracelets - primarily depends on the scope of their potential use. So, for parking lots are better suited; for use at recreation centers, in water parks, in pools - key bracelets. For access to the interior of the building, contactless cards are ideal. They are also quite often used in banks and offices.

Contact keys for intercom - what to check before buying?

If you are going to buy a magnetic key, first you need to consider what type of intercom will be used in the room to which you would like to limit access. Unfortunately, there is a fundamental incompatibility between some types of readers and types of keys. If, for example, you have devices that support the Dallas protocol installed, any of them will suit you, but for older versions of Cyfral or Metakom, these types of keys may not be suitable. Nevertheless, ours can help you - they will cost much cheaper than universal ones (TM-01 and RW-1). Thanks to the conversion of the code of CYFRAL or METAKOM devices to the code for DALLAS (DS-1990), they become an excellent replacement for the original magnetic keys for the intercom.

In addition, sometimes you can find quite exotic types of intercoms that work with resistive keys, in which resistance is read instead of the traditional code. They can certainly be called contact, but you definitely can’t call them magnetic.

Proximity keys with RFID tag

The most modern access control system used for several years in the USA and European countries. RFID bracelets may look different, but they have one thing in common - it is at the same time a way not only to control access to a room or a locker in the pool, but also under certain conditions - to help with cashless payments and a way to expand communication on social networks - of course, if the room where such bracelets will be used has scanners connected to Facebook. if the organizers of events with a large number of visitors provide them with RFID bracelets, then RFID scanners at the entrance can significantly speed up the process of getting guests to the event.

Despite all the variety of types of cards, key fobs and magnetic keys for intercoms, it is worth remembering the human factor: any of the magnetic keys or bracelets can be accidentally lost, the same can happen with cards. In order to avoid unexpected difficulties, it is better to create a kind of “reserve” fund in advance and, and our consultants will help you choose exactly those that are ideal for your access control system.

Few people think about how SIM cards work in mobile phones, whether they carry any information about their owner ... Most people will answer that of course yes, because when using a card, you can find out both the amount of money in the account and the number phone ... But no one paid attention to the fact that the procedure for replacing an old SIM card with a new one takes 30 seconds for the salon workers. Is it possible to transfer all information about you from one card to another in such a short time. Of course not. The fact is that each SIM card is assigned a certain code number, which is read by our mobile phone when the SIM card enters the reader. All other information about us is located on the server of the mobile operator, which, using this individual code, identifies us. Therefore, when replacing one SIM card with another, the operator simply changes the old code to the new one in the data about his client.

All electronic card readers work on the same principle. In the simplest access control and management systems (they are also called autonomous), the reader only works to recognize the code he needs. Such simple access control and management systems do not have any passport data of the cardholder, nor contain information about his appearance, fingerprints, gender or age. All they care about is the code. If this code is entered in the system controller, you will get access to the secured premises. But there are access control systems equipped with more complex devices that have their own server, which can store all the information about you, up to the height and color of your eyes, hair, and videos with your participation. But on your card all the same there will be only a code that the reader will have to recognize. This is done primarily for the safety of personal information about you, because no one is immune from losing the card. Otherwise, information about the owner of the card could be with strangers. Also, the ACS reader works much faster only with codes, it will take about a second to read it and recognize it, while downloading information about the owner and recognizing it will take much more time.

How the electronic key works.

As mentioned earlier, the main information that should be contained on any electronic key is the factory code encrypted on it. When the card is scanned by the reader, a signal is transmitted to the card, which simultaneously serves as an electric charge for the microcircuit inside the key card, and a code request from the reader. After receiving the necessary charge, the key gives out the code encrypted on it, and the reader device catches it. Modern cards have additional memory, the volume of which can be quite large. On such keys, users can enter various information about themselves, such as recent actions using the card, pin codes, notebooks ... Such information is written to the card in text format and does not take up much memory. At the same time, they help their owner to receive the necessary information without additional exchange with the server, which significantly saves time. At the same time, the owner can also record more complex identification data about himself (fingerprints, a unique retinal code). But to read such data, a special cipher is already required.

History of the first magnetic keys.

In 1968, Gröttrup Helmut and Deslof Jurgen, German inventor engineers, presented the first automated map of its kind to users, which gained great popularity among people already in 1983. This card was successfully used by the French, who appreciated all the convenience of paying for their landline phones.
In 1937, the American laboratory BMC developed a new unique system for recognizing friend and foe. A special transmitter broadcast information for reading. This method of data transmission began to be considered active, since a passive device was not used there.

In Russia, a similar recognition system was discovered in 1945 by the Soviet scientist Lev Sergeevich Termin. The radio frequency identifier he invented changed the reflected signals-radio waves of only a certain frequency. These modified signals were supposed to be heard by a person. In military affairs, this invention was going to be used in combat, also using the “Friend or Foe” system.
With the spread of sim cards, payment systems VISA, MASTERCARD, EUROPAY in the 90s, smart cards were at the peak of popularity.

Electronic keys in our time can be contact, contactless and magnetic. In structure, they are all similar: an electronic key that is in the card. Cards can have a different look, they are plastic and cardboard. They are also called smart cards. Any valid smart card must transmit its individual code to the reader and receive a request from him. Every year, these cards cover more and more areas of application: student cards, bank credit and debit cards, discount cards in stores, travel cards, widely distributed keys. The basis of almost all electronic keys are microprocessors, which are completely identical in their design and are designed to capture the reader's signals and transmit to it the code encrypted on them, but their way of working is different.

Modernizing and improving the work of smart cards, manufacturers began to combine identification methods and options for their interfaces.

Electronic keys do not require a permanent power source and are Read Only Memory (ROM for short). But if you take contact cards, such as VISA or sim cards, which, in addition to the code encrypted on them, can also carry some additional information, it will be necessary to create a direct contact with the reader, only through which they will be able to transfer all the necessary information to him. In contactless cards, such as Moscow Metro cards, the radio signal is transmitted to the reader from a certain distance and it is not necessary to connect them to it.

The main features of electronic keys.

No matter how good and seemingly reliable electronic keys are, there are many craftsmen who are trying to illegally decrypt the information contained on them and use it for illegal and fraudulent purposes. Just as professional smart card developers try to secure and further complicate the electronic key identification system, their opponents invent and operate all kinds of programmer readers that significantly complicate the life of cardholders.

For example, now the EM-Marine system has become widespread in the electronic chart market. Keys and key fobs of this standard have many advantages over the rest. First of all, the consumer reacts positively to the price range, which is available to almost everyone. A large selection of both shapes and types, as well as colors of electronic keys and readers for them, also attracts attention. Of course, the developers are trying their best to make these cards invulnerable, protect them from illegal reading, come up with the most complex ciphers that are strictly confidential and one of a kind, but it is not difficult for experienced hackers to develop new and new readers for them. Any dealer on the market can easily read the code from any TOUCH MEMORI or EM-Marine card using a program for reading electronic codes, then assign this code to another similar card, only created at the factory, but not stitched, without a special code on it. And now in the hands of attackers, cards like yours. The most unpleasant thing in this situation is that this reader-programmer can read the code from the card when it is in the purse or pocket of its owner. And the poor fellow does not even imagine that he has already ended up in the hands of scammers. The only positive thing is that the signal of any electronic card is very weak, and to read it, you need to get very close to the owner of the card, because this fraudulent reader is not able to pick up a signal with a range of more than sixty centimeters.

Due to the fact that fraudsters have learned how to easily copy and forge EM-Marine keys, they are now more of an additional protection and are often used simply to facilitate access to the object by their owners. No professional ACS alarm system uses keys of this type as the main identifier. Most often, a visual controller is installed, which allows the guard to see a photo of the actual cardholder and compare it with the person who is actually trying to enter the object. When removing or arming a room, in addition to electronic cards, it is often necessary to enter a special code that is known only to a narrow circle of people responsible for this event. If a person who does not look like the owner of an electronic card tries to get to the protected object, the guards have the opportunity to block his passage manually. Often ACS systems are equipped with a system that does not allow the same employee to enter the work building twice during the working day. For this, a special program is used to control the working hours of employees. If the installed access control system is autonomous, then the employees themselves must monitor the safety of things in the room during the working day, and when leaving them, close them with a key.

Today, for more serious security, especially at important sites, electronic keys of the hid standard are used. It makes no sense to specify that the installation and equipment for magnetic cards, keys and key fobs will cost several times more than the rest. But access to their ingenious codes will no longer be found by any amateur scammer, since their illegal reading will require the same expensive equipment, and not everyone can afford it. Therefore, only a real professional or employees of some special service can count them. But, if one of the organizations mentioned above takes up the matter, then most likely not a single access control and management system will be able to resist it.

Types and variants of electronic cards.

For ease of use, the developers have created two options for electronic keys, which I successfully use at various enterprises. In order to protect the card from mechanical influences and make it less vulnerable to them, special thick electronic cards are issued. The size of the card is convenient and will fit into any pocket: 54*86 mm. but its thickness can vary from 1.5 to two millimeters. There are no embossed inscriptions on such a card, it is not decorated with any decor, but stickers are issued for it, on which the necessary inscriptions can be applied using a specially adapted printer. For the convenience of users, manufacturers often leave fasteners or holes for the lace.
Thin electronic cards suffer more from mechanical stress, because their thickness is no more than 0.8 millimeters. But on them all the same special printer can put all the necessary inscriptions and give out to employees, for example, in the form of a badge.

Plastic cards, tablets and other forms of keys that provide access to the entrance of a residential building or office department are called magnetic by mistake or old tradition. Once upon a time, magnetized keys, like bank cards, were used in the access control system. In some banks, movement inside the building is still controlled by such keys, but the vast majority of well-known devices have nothing to do with a magnet and cannot be demagnetized. But to crack or lose properties from the cold completely, so having a high-quality duplicate of the magnetic key is extremely important.

What are the keys

It is very easy to make a copy of a magnetic key: a special device reads the code printed on the chip of the old device and transfers it to a blank blank. Despite the fact that the work takes a few minutes, you can not do without the help of professionals. Here you need not only the apparatus, but also the knowledge of the manufacturer, the specifics of applying this or that cipher. Without this, the intercom or other receiver may simply “not recognize” the copy. Before you make a magnetic key, you need to figure out which one you want, because there are many varieties.

• Electronic tablets.
• Smart cards.
• Contact cards.
• Proximity key fobs.
• Other magnetic cards.

How much does it cost to make a magnetic key

Progress does not stand still, and today many intercom devices that have already entered everyday life not so long ago seem archaic. Before asking the question - where to make a magnetic key, you need to decide which one is needed. Most doors equipped with standard receivers are equipped with intercoms or custom access devices. Many banks and private residences are increasingly equipped with biometric-type devices, which are not cheap, but guarantee almost one hundred percent protection of personal and commercial property.

• Individual keys are suitable for mid-level access control systems, are inexpensive and have a long service life. Most of the intercoms in urban residential buildings are equipped with such systems.
• In biometric keys, in addition to the electronic code, the individual parameters of the owner are encrypted, most often a fingerprint. Even a key of this type that has fallen into the wrong hands will not help you get into a room where a stranger is not allowed to enter.

Production of magnetic keys

If your intercom tablet is out of order or your office card is cracked, do not rush to go to the nearest tent. No one guarantees the quality of a new electronic device - far from everywhere there is the equipment necessary for reprogramming. Come to the World of Keys workshop, which is well known to Muscovites and has gained a high reputation among the residents of the capital. Production of magnetic keys is one of the most demanded services of our company.

• We will make a pass for the entrance, office, office, parking, garage, parking lot, school, bank.
• We work with all types of electronic devices.
• including custom orders.
• The number of duplicates is not limited, with a large order discounts.
• We always complete the work on time, leaving is possible.

All types of magnetic keys are guaranteed. If necessary, reprogram the card for a new code. We are ready for a dialogue regarding long-term cooperation and maintenance of magnetic cards and locks. The comprehensive support of our company's specialists is something that people who have ordered a key in a tent near the metro lack. If something happens, you don't know who to turn to. We are always ready to help good friends. Come to the workshop "World of Keys", you will not regret it!