JP2001291050A - Card reader provided with security function - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent a card reader from being operated originally when its housing is unpacked and to prevent a data-forged card from being taken out by continuing a disabled state even when the card reader is restored after unpacking. SOLUTION: The card reader is provided with a CPU 1 for compositely controlling the card reader so as to normally operate a card reader part 11 and a memory 2 is connected to the CPU 1. Also the card reader is provided with a reset SW 3 for resetting a circuit operation, a tamper SW 4 for detecting the unpacking of the device housing and a cancellation switch SW 5 which is a hidden switch. Both power sources of a power circuit 7 and a battery 6 are connected to a voltage detection circuit 8, a battery presence/absence signal (c) and a power supply signal (d) are generated, they are supplied to a port C and the power supply signal (d) and a reset signal (e) are inputted to an AND circuit 9. A temper signal (f) and a cancellation signal (g) are inputted to a tamper circuit 10 and the tamper signal (b) is generated on the basis of both signals and outputted to the port B.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a card reader device capable of reading information from a recording section and outputting a signal to an external device when a card having various information recorded on the recording section is set. The present invention relates to a "card reader device with a security function" provided.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Cards that read information recorded on cards such as credit cards, debit cards, and cash cards of financial institutions to pay various fees and perform various related procedures are widely used. The information is read by a card reader device installed in a cash corner of a ryokan or a store such as a supermarket, and various accounting processes can be efficiently performed.

[0003] This card is composed of a magnetic card in which various information is magnetically recorded in a recording section, or an IC card in which various information is electrically recorded in the recording section. Such a card reader is usually installed independently and connected to a host device on the center side via a communication line.

[0004] With the spread of card use, such a card reader device steals card data reading (skimming) and writes the stolen data on a finely made raw card to produce a forged card. Fraudulent acts of impersonating the original cardholder and using the card have occurred frequently. In particular, at present, a counterfeit card is easily used because a credit card has no security by inputting a personal identification number.

[0005] As a specific example of such misconduct, a skimming device for intercepting data in a card from a connector of a recording information reading unit is installed inside a regular card reader device installed in a store or the like at midnight. There is a method of illegally invading and embedding in the absence. At this time, since the card reader device is operating normally, the data is stored in the skimming device without noticing not only the manager of the card reader device but also the authorized cardholder.

[0006] Then, the stolen data is recovered together with the skimming device at a later date, and the stolen data is written into a fraudulently created raw card to create a forged card. Do it.

In order to prevent such injustice, the following measures have been proposed. That is, a switch member for detecting that the device housing of the card reader device has been unpacked is provided, and with this switch operation, power supply to the memory is cut off, data in the memory is erased, and a normal operation is performed. By making a change that makes the program difficult to decode, or by intentionally making the connection of the address bus of the memory irregular, the operation of the regular card reader device cannot be performed (for example, JP-A-60-4855
5, JP-A-11-175406).

In addition, unpacking is made difficult by using special screws that cannot be loosened without using a special jig as screws for assembling the device housing, or the bonding portion of the device housing is bonded. Unpacking is impossible, or a special seal that cannot be returned to its original state once it has been peeled off at the joint of the device housing is clearly marked as having been unjustly opened.

[0009]

In the conventional card reader device, if the device housing is repaired after the device housing has been illegally unpacked, the card reader device itself operates normally. There is a problem in that it is often not possible to determine on the appearance that an unauthorized modification has been made.

In view of the above, the present invention makes it impossible to operate the card reader itself when the card reader is unpacked and to repair the card reader after unpacking. Provided is a card reader device having a security function of preventing a forgery of a card by notifying an administrator of the device or an authorized card user that the package has been unpacked by continuing the operation impossible state. It is in.

[0011]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, a card reader device with a security function according to the present invention employs the following characteristic configuration.

(1) In a card reader device capable of reading information from the recording portion and outputting a signal to an external device when a card having various information recorded in the recording portion is set, a circuit of the card reader device is provided. Unpacking detection means for generating an unpacking signal consisting of a holding signal that detects that the device housing in which the unit is stored is unpacked, and when the unpacking signal is output by the unpacking detection means, The card reader is controlled so as to disable the operation of the card reader by erasing the storage contents of the memory necessary for causing the card reader to perform a predetermined operation, and the unpacking of the device housing is restored. And a control unit for controlling the operation of the card reader device so as to disable the card reader device.

(2) In a card reader device capable of reading information from the recording portion and outputting a signal to an external device when a card having various information recorded in the recording portion is set, a circuit of the card reader device is provided. Unpacking detection means for generating an unpacking signal consisting of a holding signal that detects that the device housing in which the unit is stored is unpacked, and when the unpacking signal is output by the unpacking detection means, Control is performed to prohibit access to a memory necessary for causing the card reader device to perform a predetermined operation to disable the operation of the card reader device, and unpacking of the device housing is restored. And a control unit for controlling the operation of the card reader device so as to disable the card reader device.

(3) When the unpacking signal is output from the unpacking detecting means of (1) or (2), a display means for displaying an error message indicating that the unpacking is disabled is added. Card reader device with security function.

(4) The unpacking detecting means of (1) or (2) generates the unpacking signal based on an output of a switch member which is turned on or off by unpacking of the apparatus casing. A card reader with security function to configure.

(5) A card reader device with a security function, wherein the card according to any one of (1) to (4) is a magnetic card in which various information is magnetically recorded in a recording unit.

(6) A card reader with a security function, wherein the card according to any one of (1) to (4) is an IC card in which various information is electrically recorded in a recording unit.

[0018]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. This embodiment is a case where the card is a magnetic card, and will be described first with reference to FIG. 1 which shows a schematic circuit configuration of a card reader device with a security function according to the present invention.

A CPU 1 for controlling the card reader 11 in a complex manner so as to perform a normal operation is provided, and a memory 2 is connected to the CPU 1. The two are connected by a data bus D which is a bus for write data and read data, an address bus A for specifying a memory address, and a control signal C line for controlling these.

A reset switch SW3 for resetting the circuit operation and a tamper switch SW4 for detecting the unpacking of the device housing.
And a release switch 5 serving as a hidden switch, and a battery 6 for outputting a battery power supply VB for backing up data in the memory 2 and a main power supply VP composed of a stabilized DC rectified and stabilized DC output. A power supply circuit 7 is provided.

The main power supply VP of the power supply circuit 7
Is connected to the memory 2 so that the CPU 1 operation and the memory 2 operation can be performed properly. Further, both power supplies of the main power supply VP of the power supply circuit 7 and the battery power supply VB of the battery 6 are connected to a voltage detection circuit 8, and the voltage detection circuit 8 generates a battery presence / absence signal c and a power-on signal d. Yes / No signal c
Is supplied to the port C of the CPU 1 and the power-on signal d is 2
The signal is input to one input terminal of an input type AND circuit 9 and
A reset signal e output from the reset SW3 is input to the other input terminal of the D circuit 9. This AND circuit 9
Is output to the port A of the CPU 1 for resetting the hardware.

The tamper signal f output from the tamper SW 4 and the release signal g output from the release SW 5 are input to the tamper circuit 10, and the tamper signal b generated based on the correlation between the two signals is output to the port of the CPU 1. B.

Therefore, in a normal state, after the power is turned on or the hard reset signal a is released, the CPU 1
Detects the states of ports A, B, and C, and when the device casing is unpacked by an unauthorized person, first, as shown in the flowchart of FIG.
The reset signal e rises, and the hard reset signal a of the AND circuit 9 rises, and is supplied to the port A of the CPU 1 in order to turn on the tamper SW 4 and the tamper SW 4. At the same time, the data stored in the memory 2 is erased by a command from the CPU 1 in step S2, and the operation of the CPU 1 is stopped.

Next, it is determined in step S3 whether or not the reset SW3 has been returned. If the answer is No, a standby state is set. If the answer is Yes, the process proceeds to the next step S4.
In step S4, it is determined whether or not the tamper SW4 has been returned. In the case of No, the standby state is set, and when the result is Yes, the process proceeds to the next step S5.

Here, once the tamper SW4 is turned on, the tamper signal f holds the active state.
In step S5, the CPU 1 is activated, and the ports B and C are detected. In the next step S6, it is determined whether or not the port B is active. In the next step S7, the message A is displayed on a display or a jig (not shown),
This specific example is a character display of “system error S001” and a character display of “inoperable” as indicated by reference numeral 12 in FIG.

In order to recover such a state, a release signal g is activated by operating a release switch 5, which is a hidden switch provided inside the apparatus housing, and the tamper signal b is accordingly changed to the port of the CPU 1. This is performed by being supplied to B.

When the battery 6 is removed, as shown in the flowchart of FIG.
It is determined whether port C of U1 is active,
In the case of No, a standby state is set, and in the case of Yes, a message B is displayed on a display or a jig (not shown) in the next step S9, so that subsequent operations are not accepted. A specific example of the message B is a character display “System error S002” and a character display “Backup battery exhausted” as indicated by reference numeral 13 in FIG.

However, if the removed battery 6 is returned to its original state (step S10), the display of the message B is canceled in step S11, and the above-mentioned "operation not accepted" state is canceled, and the next step S12 Proceed to Tampa SW
4 is turned on or not, and in the case of No, the process returns to the above-described step S8, and the steps after the step S8 are executed. When the result of step S12 is Yes, in the next step S13 The message A (see reference numeral 12 in FIG. 3) is displayed on a display, a jig, or the like (not shown), and the subsequent operation is not accepted.

Therefore, even if the device housing is unpacked and a skimming device is mounted to attempt data theft, the device becomes inoperable when the device is removed, and continues even if this state is restored after unpacking. Therefore, data theft can be prevented without using a particularly complicated structure.

The specific configuration of the reset switch SW3 and the tamper switch SW4 is not limited to the case of a microswitch.
It may be configured by a reed switch or a semiconductor switch configured as a magnetic sensing switch.

The card used in the present invention is not only a magnetic card in which various information is magnetically recorded in a recording unit, but also an IC in which various information is electrically recorded in a recording unit.
It may be constituted by a card, the recording format of the information is completely arbitrary, and the place where the card reader device is installed is completely arbitrary.

Further, means for disabling operation when unpacking is
Not only the example of erasing the stored contents of the memory necessary for performing the intended operation, but also prohibiting the card reader device from accessing the memory required for performing the predetermined operation, It goes without saying that the operation may be controlled to be disabled, or the execution of a predetermined program may be disabled.

[0033]

As is apparent from the above description, the card reader with security function according to the present invention erases the contents stored in the memory necessary for causing the card reader to perform a predetermined operation. The card reader device is controlled to be disabled, and this state is maintained even if unpacking is repaired. Even if
It is possible to know that unauthorized modification has been performed.

Therefore, when unpacking is performed on the device housing of the card reader device, the original operation of the card reader device itself is disabled, and the original operation is disabled even if the card reader device is repaired after unpacking. It is possible to provide a card reader device with a security function that prevents the forgery of the card by notifying the administrator of the device or an authorized card user that the package has been opened by continuing the state.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block circuit diagram showing a schematic circuit configuration of a card reader device with a security function according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart for explaining an operation when the device housing of the card reader device with a security function shown in FIG. 1 is unpacked.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a specific example of a message in the flowchart shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the card reader with security function shown in FIG. 1 when the battery is removed.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a specific example of a message in the flowchart shown in FIG. 4;

[Description of Signs] 1 CPU 2 Memory 3 Reset SW 4 Tamper SW 5 Release SW 6 Battery 7 Power supply circuit 8 Power supply voltage detection circuit 9 AND circuit 10 Tamper circuit 11 Card reader section

Continued on the front page F term (reference) 2C005 MA02 MA03 MA34 MB08 SA05 SA06 TA24 5B017 AA01 AA07 BA08 BB03 CA14 5B058 CA27 KA02 KA24 KA31 YA20 5B072 AA00 CC02 CC27 CC39 DD04 JJ09 MM09

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A card reader device capable of reading information from a recording unit and outputting a signal to an external device when a card on which various information is recorded in a recording unit is set. Unpacking detection means for generating an unpacking signal consisting of a holding signal that detects that the device housing in which the device is stored is unpacked, and when the unpacking signal is output by the unpacking detection means, While controlling so that the card reader device erases the storage content necessary to perform a predetermined operation to the card reader device to disable the operation of the card reader device,
Control means for controlling operation of the card reader device to be disabled even if unpacking of the device housing is restored, wherein the card reader device has a security function. 2. A card reader device capable of reading information from a recording portion and outputting a signal to an external device when a card having various information recorded on the recording portion is set, wherein a circuit portion of the card reader device is provided. Unpacking detection means for generating an unpacking signal consisting of a holding signal that detects that the device housing in which the device is stored is unpacked, and when the unpacking signal is output by the unpacking detection means, Control is performed to prohibit access to a memory required for causing the card reader device to perform a predetermined operation to disable the operation of the card reader device, and unpacking of the device housing is restored. And a control means for controlling operation of the card reader device so as to disable the card reader device. 3. An apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a display unit for displaying an error message indicating that the unpacking signal cannot be used when said unpacking signal is output from said unpacking detection unit. Item 3. A card reader device with a security function according to Item 2. 4. The unpacking detection means is configured to generate the unpacking signal based on an output of a switch member that is turned on or off by unpacking the device housing. A card reader device with a security function according to claim 2. 5. The card with a security function according to claim 1, wherein the card is a magnetic card in which various information is magnetically recorded in a recording unit. Reader device. 6. A card with a security function according to claim 1, wherein said card is constituted by an IC card in which various information is electrically recorded in a recording section. Reader device.