Depending on how the card is used will determine the level of encryption needed. The more critical and sensitive the data are, the more encryption should be added to the smart card, making it harder for anyone to hack into the information the card holds. Adding a biometrics layer to the encryption will bump up the level of protection even further, making it almost impossible for someone else to get access to the card’s data.
The University of Arizona, like major research universities across the country, found that many of its grants and contracts were tied to higher levels of access security. Access to buildings with old-fashioned keys and locks or cards with magnetic strips swiped into pin pads didn’t provide the amount of security the University was looking for. So the school made the switch to smart cards.