 |
At our October Meeting, Peter Honeyman, director of the Center for
Information Technology Integration (CITI) at the University of Michigan
discussed his group's smart card-related research and development,
including innovative computer security applications (like Kerberos),
and new methods of interacting with smart cards (for example, as a
mounted UNIX file system).
Peter discussed the difference in smart card acceptance between the U.S.
and Europe, and had some interesting insights: In the U.S., smart
cards have never really been accepted. Even within a large organization,
like U.M., where all students have smart card-based student I.D. cards--
and can use smart cards as cash cards for cafeterias and vending
machines-- acceptance is low. In Europe, however, smart cards have
been in use for years. Peter's explanation is that smart cards have
been a necessity in Europe due to high fraud rates. Without a
well-integrated, state-of-the-art telecommunications infrastructure,
credit card fraud rates were high when merchants had to refer to the books
of lost and stolen cards when accepting a credit card for a transaction
(remember these books back in the 60's and 70's?) In France, Peter
reports that pay phones generally require smart cards because so many
telephone hacks are possible there that it was simpler to require smart
cards than to fix the fraud problem. All in all, Peter attributes the
sophisticated telephone infrastructure in the U.S., where credit cards
are verified by a quick, automated telephone call for the high
high credit card acceptance-- and low smart card acceptance-- in the
U.S. compared to Europe.
A range of Peter's talks are available on his web site at:
http://www.citi.umich.edu/u/honey/talks.html.
|
 |
