In today’s increasingly connected financial ecosystem, identity theft is a serious issue that can happen to anyone. It is a theft of someone’s personal information to gain access to their financial resources and personal information.
With your personal information in the wrong hands, unlawful withdrawal of funds from your bank account will be the least of your problems, with extreme circumstances involving selling your information on the dark web to other criminals.
Unfortunately, many are not taking steps to safeguard themselves against identity theft. A simple initiative would be to invest in your passwords and choose to never give out any personal information.
Biometrics
The debate over whether passwords are adequate security measures is still questionable, however, no one is in doubt that biometrics is the way forward. Biometrics has reigned supreme over passwords for its fool proof verification capabilities.
Biometrics is a biological measurement used to identify individuals. It measures people’s unique physical and behavioural characteristics, guaranteeing extra security.
Among the recognized options for biometrics are fingerprint verification and facial recognition with more means in the pipeline and advanced biometrics methods now being developed and tested widely.
For example, Halifax Bank is testing heartbeat monitoring devices to verify customers’ identities. Ford Motor Company, not wanting to miss out, is planning to apply biometrics sensors in cars instead of the more conventional ignition mechanism.
MyKad or Smart Card Reader
A MyKad card reader or a smart card reader is a device used to read MyKad and more often other smart cards.
Characteristics of smart cards are the inclusion of built-in chips which are often used for validation and storing of personal information.
Smart card readers are available in contact and contactless models.
Contact smart card reader- Cards can only be read when the user manually inserts a card into the reader. This kind of smart card reader is optimum for cards that require higher security tagging such as IDs.
Contactless smart card reader- Cards are read through radio frequency communication (RFID) when the card is in close proximity to the reader. It does not require the card to be inserted in the reader.
The difference between the two is emphasized on how the chip on the card functions. Amongst the two, the contactless reader is more user-friendly considering the convenience and time saving validation it offers.
Smart card readers are available in a variety of forms, features, factors, capabilities and method of the interface. In-depth reading on how a smart card reader works and different features of smart card readers can be found here.
Biometrics Smart Card Reader- The Brands
There are definitely a lot of smart card readers in the Malaysian market. What are their strengths and weaknesses? What are their primary uses? Let us review in depth.
Tricubes Sekure 5
Interfaces:
– The Sekure5 has 1 additional SAM slot for the usual contact type reading and MIFARE® contactless reader, the only one to have this feature in this segment.
– For connectivity, it uses USB interface to connect either to a PC or Mac. It is supported on most versions of Windows and Apple OS.
– The device is embedded with the latest Morphosmart CBM-V3 fingerprint scanner module, allowing fast and accurate finger recognition.
Features:
– Sekure5 needs only 0.9 seconds for authentication (one to one) and 1 second for identification (one to many) for the fingerprint sensor.
– The best part is it contains large database capacity with up to 10,000 templates.
– Sekure5 supports the latest EBA (Enhanced Biometric Access) MyKad for secure data protection.
Not to miss, look at the sleek design!
Moreover, it has an adjustable False Acceptance Rate (FAR) to allow for juvenile finger processing.
All the said four models have a 500dpi sensor with fingerprint scanner and card reader – the basics of any smart card reader.
An overview of the summarized important specifications of the products is shown below:
The verdict
Right now, the positive signs point towards the Sekure5 for the best choice when choosing a Biometrics MyKad Reader.
This reasonably priced low-cost card reader definitely has stood taller than the rest with its processing speed and sleek design.
It is no doubt that having both contact and contactless capabilities all the Sekure5 possess a distinct advantage over the rest.
Currently, The Sekure5 by Tricubes has all the features to be the top biometrics verification device. It also has strong reference sites.
Tricubes is currently the Malaysian market leader in biometrics with a proven track record.
The company also provides Enterprise Mobility Solutions (EMS), Identity Authentication Solutions (IAS) and IT Maintenance Services (ITMS) solutions for both government agencies and the private sector.
Should you need an efficient, safe and reasonable priced biometric card reader, you can now get one from Tricubes.
