NU013809@NDSUVM1.BITNET (Greg Wettstein) (07/17/89)
I am interested in locating any information regarding technical aspects of
the encoding methods used to place information on the magnetic strips commonly
found on bank cards or credit cards. As a preface to this I should probably
say that I am not interested in counterfeiting (sp?) or modifying bank cards or
credit cards, hopefully this will put everyone's mind at ease. -).
The project that I am involved with requires that we give individuals some
method of carrying electronically stored information. I of course suggested
3.5 micro-floppies but these were deemed excessively bulky. The project
administrators would like to be able to store the information on something
approximating the size of a credit card. The administrators know about the
magnetic strips on such cards and are wondering how much information can be
stored on one or more of these strips.
My questions (problems) are as follows:
1.) What density can these strips be encoded at. I have a sneaky hunch that
something like 6250 bpi is probably out of the question.
2.) Is it possible to re-record (edit) the information that is encoded on
these cards. The administrators envision a system where the information
carried on each card would be dynamic and therefore would require
modification or additions of data.
3.) What type of hardware is available for reading this information and is
possible to interface this hardware to a personal computer which would
serve as the user interface.
4.) What data integrity questions must be addressed? I look at the back of
my credit cards and I notice a lot of gouges through the magnetic strip,
how does such physical trauma affect data retention and recording
densities?
Any information provided by the net would be greatly appreciated. We will be
needing some hardware vendors if this project proceeds so I would be interested
in hearing from anyone who works for companies involved with this type of
technology. Replies either via the net or e-mail would be greatly appreciated.
I will summarize all responses if sufficient interest is show by others. Once
again thanks in advance for whatever help may be extended.
As always,
G.W. Wettstein
NU013809@NDSUVM1johnl@ima.ima.isc.com (John R. Levine) (07/19/89)
In article <2549NU013809@NDSUVM1> NU013809@NDSUVM1.BITNET (Greg Wettstein) writes: >I am interested in locating any information regarding technical aspects of >the encoding methods used to place information on the magnetic strips commonly >found on bank cards or credit cards. ... Glad you asked. The magnetic stripe format is standardized in ANSI X4.16, and the format of the card itself is in ANSI X4.13. According to X4.16, the stripe has three tracks. The first two are read-only, the last is writable. Track 1 is recorded at 210 BPI in a six-bit ASCII subset. The data can be up to 79 characters, and contains an account number, the full name of the holder, the expiration date, a three digit country code, and a parity byte. Track 2 is 75 BPI and contains the account number, expiration date, and country code in BCD. Track 3 is the same format as track 1; its contents are unspecified, at least in 1983 when the standard was written. The content formats are conventional but don't appear to be mandatory, so any 79 bytes of six-bit text would be possible on tracks 1 or 3. I have seen lots of mag stripe readers that plug into PCs, typically apppearing either as a serial terminal or as "magic fingers" that type the stripe contents on the keyboard. I've never seen a PC stripe recorder. I suspect that given the fairly well founded paranoia of the credit card industry, stripe writers would be relatively hard to get. -- John R. Levine, Segue Software, POB 349, Cambridge MA 02238, +1 617 492 3869 { bbn | spdcc | decvax | harvard | yale }!ima!johnl, Levine@YALE.something Massachusetts has 64 licensed drivers who are over 100 years old. -The Globe
johnl@ima.ima.isc.com (John R. Levine) (07/19/89)
In article <4181@ima.ima.isc.com> johnl@ima.ima.isc.com (John R. Levine) writes: >In article <2549NU013809@NDSUVM1> NU013809@NDSUVM1.BITNET (Greg Wettstein) writes: >>I am interested in locating any information regarding technical aspects of >>the encoding methods used to place information on the magnetic strips commonly >>found on bank cards or credit cards. ... > >[blah blah blah] If you want to rewrite the contents of the card, you probably need a "smart card" with an embedded chip as is used in payphone cards in France. I believe that France Telecom is a leader in this technology; one could try calling their office in New York and see if they sell it. -- John R. Levine, Segue Software, POB 349, Cambridge MA 02238, +1 617 492 3869 { bbn | spdcc | decvax | harvard | yale }!ima!johnl, Levine@YALE.something Massachusetts has 64 licensed drivers who are over 100 years old. -The Globe
jimb@athertn.Atherton.COM (Jim Burke) (07/20/89)
In article <4181@ima.ima.isc.com> johnl@ima.ima.isc.com (John R. Levine) writes: >I have seen lots of mag stripe readers that plug into PCs, typically apppearing >either as a serial terminal or as "magic fingers" that type the stripe contents >on the keyboard. I've never seen a PC stripe recorder. I suspect that given >the fairly well founded paranoia of the credit card industry, stripe writers >would be relatively hard to get. This is interesting. I happened to stop at a gas station near Clear Lake California a few weeks ago and they used magnetic stripe technology to operate their gas pumps. It worked like this: you go in and pay the cashier any amount of money you want, up to a limit. The cashier passes a thin plastic card (credit card sized but very thin) through what is presumably a reader/recorder. You then take the card out to the pump and pass it through a reader and pump your gas. I don't believe you necessarily have to use all the credit on the card at one time - you presumably could buy all your gas for the month at one time. When the card is empty, you toss it into a little bin they provide. The pump must write to the card in order to erase the credit. It seems like there is room for abuse for this system if card reader/recorder devices were readily available unless they used one heck-of-an encryption scheme on the cards. Still, it is an interesting concept. Perhaps ten years from now your employer will just hand you a little card instead of a paycheck and you can carry it around with you to buy things, or swipe it through your home unit (with a modem) to pay your bills. Handy, eh??? -- Jim Burke (408) 734-9822 (temp) | I'll stop posting when they pry my jimb@Atherton.COM | cold, dead fingers from the smoking {decwrl,sun,hpda,pyramid}!athertn!jimb | keyboard.
vail@tegra.UUCP (Johnathan Vail) (07/20/89)
In article <4181@ima.ima.isc.com> johnl@ima.ima.isc.com (John R. Levine) writes: >In article <2549NU013809@NDSUVM1> NU013809@NDSUVM1.BITNET (Greg Wettstein) writes: >>I am interested in locating any information regarding technical aspects of >>the encoding methods used to place information on the magnetic strips commonly >>found on bank cards or credit cards. ... There is an ANSI spec that describes the encoding. Many companies make encoders and readers. I think the readers we were using were Sankyo Sieki (sp?). I had more info but I don't work for the companies any more where I was doing this. Segal's Law: A man with one watch knows what time it is. A man with two watches is never sure. _____ | | Johnathan Vail | tegra!N1DXG@ulowell.edu |Tegra| (508) 663-7435 | N1DXG@145.110-,145.270-,444.2+,448.625- -----
george@rebel.UUCP (George M. Sipe) (07/22/89)
In article <6688@athertn.Atherton.COM> jimb@athertn.UUCP (Jim Burke) writes: >.......................................................... The pump >must write to the card in order to erase the credit. It seems like there >is room for abuse for this system if card reader/recorder devices were >readily available unless they used one heck-of-an encryption scheme on >the cards. The pump may just be reading a fixed ID from the card and passing that info to a 'central' micro over in gas station HQ. Not much different than a bar code. -- George M. Sipe, Phone: (404) 447-4731 537 Lakeshore Drive, Berkeley Lake, GA 30136-3035 UUCP: ...!{decvax,linus,rutgers}!gatech!rebel!george
jms@vpnet.UUCP (Jon Schattke) (07/22/89)
>From: jimb@athertn.Atherton.COM [Jim Burke] >In article <4181@ima.ima.isc.com> johnl@ima.ima.isc.com (John R. Levine) >writes: >This is interesting. I happened to stop at a gas station near Clear Lake >California a few weeks ago and they used magnetic stripe technology to >operate their gas pumps. >The pump >must write to the card in order to erase the credit. It seems like there >is room for abuse for this system if card reader/recorder devices were >readily available unless they used one heck-of-an encryption scheme on >the cards. Still, it is an interesting concept. It would be much easier to have the pump computers merely talk to the main computer about your account. The card is merely a way of keeping the account number in a transportable and transferrable way. The card would never have to be written on site. You could even have multiple cards for families. Remember the cardinal rule of computing and engineering: Keep it simple. --- Jonathan Mark Schattke There is _always_ one more bug. jms@vpnet.UUCP If u cn rd ths, u 2 cn bcum a prgrmr & mk bg $. VPNET is a free-to-users public-access system in a Chicago Suburb.
chris@zorin.UUCP (Christopher Nielsen) (07/25/89)
From: NU013809@NDSUVM1.BITNET (Greg Wettstein) > I am interested in locating any information regarding technical aspects of > the encoding methods used to place information on the magnetic strips commonly > found on bank cards or credit cards. ... >(...) > 3.) What type of hardware is available for reading this information and is > possible to interface this hardware to a personal computer which would > serve as the user interface. >(...) > Any information provided by the net would be greatly appreciated. We will be > needing some hardware vendors if this project proceeds so I would be > interested in hearing from anyone who works for companies involved with this > type of technology. Greg, here are some records from Zorin on-line product information database that may interest you... <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Zorin>>>> [01] [ Manufacturer ] Company -> Solutions Engineering Headquarters: 301-652-2738 4705 Langdrum Lane National: 800-635-6533 Bethesda, MD 20815 Name [TM] MINIBAR Barcode Readers Key ----> PC/XT/AT/RS-232/advanced bar code & magnetic stripe reader supports cash registers,port concentrators or asynchronous terminals connected on-line to a host/attractive,durable & compact/2 scanners can be connected simultaneously including light pens,slot scanners,magnetic stripe readers,laser scanners etc [ Systems ] SYS75679D <<<<Zorin<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Zorin>>>> [01] [ Manufacturer ] Company -> DRT Corporation Headquarters: 612-942-7909 SlideScribe National: 800-345-4118 7521 Washington South FAX: 612-942-7852 Edina, MN 55435 Name [TM] SlideScribe Slide Labels Key ----> labeling 35mm projector slides/professional labels in less than 30 seconds/letter-quality printer/compact,portable PC/encoder decoder/SELF ADHESIVE MAGNETIC STRIPS-STORE INFORMATION to eliminate retyping or download to data file/self-adhesive labels available in 10 colors for coding/etc Price(s) > On file [ Video ] VID15475 <<<<Zorin<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Zorin>>>> [04] [ Manufacturer ] Company -> Echo Plastic Systems Inc Headquarters: 305-931-8405 Dept MBB National: 800-327-0693 P.O.Box 69-4217 Miami, FL 33269-9931 Name [TM] Plastic Cards Key ----> plastic membership,credit or I.D type cards/offer maximum flexibility for advertising plus space for membership or identification < Roll-A-File * Medical I.D. * Magnetic Strip * Write-On * Business > Complete Printing & Embossing Service [ Plastics ] PLA25089D <<<<Zorin<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Zorin>>>> [05] [ Manufacturer ] Company -> TPS Electronics Headquarters: 415-856-6833 4047 Transport FAX: 415-856-3843 Palo Alto, CA 94303 Telex: 371-9097 Name [TM] Bar Code/Magnetic Stripe Key ----> bar code reader/magnetic stripe reader/magnetic stripe encoder bar code print program/bar code-magnetic stripe combination TPS bar reader aids Macintosh manufacture! Price(s) > On file [ Systems ] SYS54812 <<<<Zorin<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Christopher A. Nielsen ////////////////// Zorin Data Systems, Inc //// P.O. Box 5669 Santa Monica, CA 90405-0669 //// (213) 399-3804 //// UUCP: randvax!zorin!info //// <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< Zorin... "The Future On-Line" >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> < Online Product Information and other services - Call or write for free demo >
gk@kksys.mn.org (Greg Kemnitz) (08/01/89)
In article <189@zorin.UUCP> chris@zorin.UUCP (Christopher Nielsen) writes: >Company -> DRT Corporation Headquarters: 612-942-7909 > SlideScribe National: 800-345-4118 > 7521 Washington South FAX: 612-942-7852 > Edina, MN 55435 > >Name [TM] SlideScribe Slide Labels As of a telephone call made to DRT last Thursday, they filed bankruptcy on June 30. It was not clear whether this is chapter 7 (liquidation) or chapter 11 (reorganization). What *WAS* pretty clear is that we will never be seeing the thousand-odd bucks they owe us... -- Greg Kemnitz / K and K Systems / PO Box 41804 / Plymouth, MN 55441-0804 Domain: gk@kksys.mn.org / UUCP: ...!{amdahl,hpda}!bungia!kksys!gk Voice: +1 612 475 1527 / Fax: +1 612 475 1979 - touch '1' at second ring