Best Practices to Keep in Mind during Card Design
Advances in reproduction and ID card printing technology have moved fake counterfeiting into a new realm, populated by tech-savvy fraudsters who threaten ID card systems worldwide. This is putting pressure on Governments to increase the resources used for designing and producing secure ID cards.
To improve security and reduce fraud, many organizations today are developing sophisticated ID badges with security features that are cross-linked at the time of personalization. Because there are trade-offs with each model and different requirements for each issuing agency, there is no “best” method, but there are best practices.
Keep It Simple
An ID card overloaded with security features may end up being just as vulnerable as one with insufficient protection. Most security experts agree that layering two or three features within different security levels (Overt, Covert, and Forensic), makes an ID card design resistant to all but the well-trained document examiner.
In today’s documents, there’s a lot of emphasis on security; don’t forget about ensuring authenticity which is its own card qualifier. Some features must be included to confirm the authenticity of the document itself; not only to protect the ID card data from alteration or substitution, but that data on it is authentic.
Engage Security Professionals
Developing a secure ID card document should start with threat analysis, so you can evaluate the risks or potential compromises to the proposed ID card system. Unless skilled design professionals are available in-house, the use of an independent security design professional is a critical step in developing a secure ID card.
A skilled designer can incorporate a balance of overt and covert security features to minimize the likelihood of criminal attacks against the ID card during its lifetime.
Include Features For Every Level of Inspection
Some features will provide multiple levels of protection or deterrence, so educational tools and reference aids should be provided to the public or user organization as first-level examiners. Special tools must also be provided to second-level examiners, ranging from simple magnifiers to ID card readers (e.g. magnetic stripe, barcode, or IC chip readers).
Traditional security printing is used for currency and is still generally effective for 2nd level inspection of ID card security levels. Application of an Optically Variable Device (OVD) is another important method for 1st level examination.
Assuring that ID card data is genuine and has not been altered or forged may require entirely separate techniques depending on how the document is produced. For example, laser engraving or indent printing permanently alters the ID card substrate, thereby reducing the threat of tampering or data substitution. Laser engraving can also be used to “disturb” the surface of an ID card, creating a tactile effect useful for document authentication.
For many ID card documents, transparent DOVDs (diffractive OVDs) are applied over personal data, providing tamper evidence if someone tries to alter a photo, birth date, expiry number, etc. Some transparent DOVDs are combined with overlaminates or ID card overlays to provide additional tamper resistance against alteration.
Third-level security features are typically used for investigative purposes. Their primary value comes from forensic analysis of counterfeiting or forgery methods and the resulting link analysis. Third-level features can also be “demoted” to the second level as more advanced third-level features become available, or if second-level features become compromised.
Anticipate Change
The effectiveness of ID card security designs is measured in a few years, technology moves quickly, and criminals can readily gain access to the latest commercial products.
Therefore the security features selected for a secure ID card should incorporate anticipated threats as well as current threats from counterfeiting and alteration, with the knowledge that the best ID card programs will stay only slightly ahead of the determined and well-funded criminal.
