Several different card technologies are all present on a single TWIC card, including a biometric credential reference standard for the cardholder that is embedded in the smart card, magnetic stripe, and smart card touch or touchless technology. At the time of the writing of this book, the National Transportation Workers Identification Card (TWIC) provides a single uniform credential that is more difficult to counterfeit and misuse than many past cards. Therefore, one of the biggest challenges is for the organization to make a decision regarding what access control card technology to use. Of course, where the card formats are the same, it is possible that the bit formats may still differ.
![magnetic stripe card reader and writer magnetic stripe card reader and writer](https://hackershomepage.com/Magnetic-Stripe-Reader-Writer.jpg)
Some sites may use magnetic stripe cards, others may use Wiegand swipe cards, still others may use one brand or another of 125-kHz proximity cards, and some may use smart cards. One of the most expensive challenges awaiting organizations wishing to integrate their various alarm/access control systems is that there may be numerous different card types, with varying card bit formats. Thomas Norman CPP, PSP, CSC, in Integrated Security Systems Design (Second Edition), 2014 Access Card Legacies In general, magnetic stripe cards offer a relatively low level of security. Disadvantages arise because these cards require swiping or insertion into a reader resulting in wear over time. The advantage of magnetic stripe cards is that their codes can be changed after manufacture by reprogramming, and as credit and debit cards, they can also feature text and images and be used as identification badges.
#MAGNETIC STRIPE CARD READER AND WRITER CODE#
The card is usually presented to the reader by swiping or inserting it into the reader, which obtains the card's code using a magnetic head that detects the magnetic field generated by its strip. This standard tape strip contains three magnetic tracks that are used to store the card's code data. They consist of a standard coercivity plastic card to which a strip of magnetic tape is applied.
![magnetic stripe card reader and writer magnetic stripe card reader and writer](https://canary.contestimg.wish.com/api/webimage/5ee72c635c835e1972ff7bd5-large.jpg)
Magnetic stripe cards use the same conventional magnetic recording technology used for audiotapes, and are currently used with credit and debit cards.
![magnetic stripe card reader and writer magnetic stripe card reader and writer](https://eclats-antivols.fr/3056-large_default/programmer-magnetic-stripe-card-reader-writer-programmers-programmer-magnetic-stripe-card-reader-writer-programmers-programmer-m.jpg)
Brooks, in Security Science, 2013 Magnetic Stripe Cards