Security Features of Modern Badges

Bad photos aside, most modern identification badges include security features that make them more than mere badges. Sometimes security features are entirely passive: for example, they might include something as simple as plain transparent laminations that make the card hard to easily modify. These days, though, ID badges often include more high-tech features that are very difficult to counterfeit. One example is imbedded holograms, like the ones you see on some credit cards. Other common methods include holographic over-laminations that show up only if you tilt the card just so; shiny inks and foil stamps; micro-text printing; color coding; watermarking...the list goes on. The folks who make ID badges are infinitely clever. The long and short of it is that if an identification badge lacks the features on everyone else's' badge, it's probably fake -- but you either have to check closely or run it through a machine to be sure.

Then there are the more active security features, which don't have to be checked; the security system can automatically include or exclude a person based on whether the feature exists on their card or is properly activated. Magnetic strip or "mag strip" badges are probably the best example of badges with this type of feature. The magnetic strip that's on the back can have two purposes: it can unlock a door to let you into a secure area, or it can hold information about you, just like the strip on the back of a credit card. Some ID badges do both. But how?

On to part seven :: Magnetic Strips and How They Work :: Back to Index