The nationwide introduction of "smart" identity cards is expected by 2010 with the aim of providing a more multipurpose card and increasing the safety of personal data.
The cards, which have electronic chips inserted in them, are being developed by the Scientific and Technical Research Council of Turkey, or TÜBİTAK, and are protected with seven high security measures. It is said the cards are more advanced than smart-card technologies used in many European countries.
The cards are developed with local technology by the National Research Institute of Electronics and Cryptology, or UEKAE, division of TÜBİTAK. Visible safety measures in the cards include multicolored holograms incorporating all colors of the rainbow, ultraviolet symbols, patterned borders and micro-printing, while special codes are also embedded in the chip.
Mustafa Başak, project officer at UEKAE, spoke to the Anatolia news agency about the smart-card operation system, or AKIS.
Başak said the smart-card will initially replace the national identity card and possible future uses will include drivers licenses, passports and health insurance cards. They could also be used for identification purposes in e-government applications, in place of certificates from the Health Ministry or for Finance Ministry tax applications. Başak said the smart cards could be used by municipalities to serve as city cards or prepaid cards and could assist in preventing multiple votes during elections. Private medical data, accessible only with the card bearer’s permission, may also be stored in the card, Başak said.
Impossible to forge
Başak said the smart-cards "could not be forged ... and have security measures in place to detect any changes when the card is damaged or distorted." Başak said the data on the card and in the chip would be protected using cryptographic methods and while the card itself would prove very difficult to forge, it would be impossible to tamper with the electronic security system.
Başak said it would be possible to identify a forged card at first glance due to visual enciphering. "Although forgery [of the card] is very difficult, the visual data will also feature in the chip in electronic code, just in case. When the chip is tinkered with, the data present cannot be read when the card is inserted into a device."
What makes forgery of the card impossible has been accomplished through electronic enciphering techniques, Başak said. AKIS contains a mechanism to detect and fix corruptions in the memory cells, and the keys for coding, decoding and authentication are completely detached from each other.
Başak said the card also has PIN and PUK codes and it was possible to insert fingerprint technology, which was ready for use, if the relevant law was enacted. Başak said due to the ban on use of data such as fingerprints and iris identification on databases according to European Union criteria, fingerprints would be stored inside the cards. "Because the card will be in the hands of the owner, storing the fingerprint somewhere else is not going to take place, as is being reported in the press," he said.
Technology based on optical recognition not chips
Başak said smart-card technology used in the United States was not based on chips, but on optical recognition and Turkey is ahead of many European Union countries when it came to smart-card technology. Başak said Turkey was in the same league with Ukraine and Portugal who were applying advanced smart-card technologies. "Turkey has already started to apply a system Europe is still working on," he said.
Başak said a pilot project for smart-cards started in the Black Sea town of Bolu on Nov. 1 and 10,000 cards would be handed out by the end of this year. The second phase will include 300,000 cards to be distributed by May 2010. The smart-cards are already in use at 67 pharmacies, a hospital and eight family physician practices, Başak said.
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Quelle/Source: Hürriyet, 18.12.2008
