A smart card is a plastic card, the size of a credit card, embedded with a microchip. A key advantage is that it cannot be easily counterfeited. Smart cards include a wide variety of hardware and software features capable of detecting and reacting to tampering attempts and countering possible attacks.

• A. True
• B. False
• C. Sometimes
• D. Not applicable

Answer: (A)

Smart cards rely on hardware and software protections that make cloning and tampering much harder than with basic magnetic cards. The embedded microchip, secure storage, and specialized processing environment let the card perform cryptographic operations securely while actively sensing tampering attempts such as probing, voltage glitches, or physical attacks. When tamper is detected, the card can react by erasing sensitive data, disabling functions, or triggering additional authentication checks, which protects the keys and credentials stored on the card.

Because each card holds unique cryptographic material in a protected, tamper-resistant environment, forging a new card requires breaching those protections, which is why cloning or counterfeiting is not easily accomplished. While no system is absolutely impregnable, these security features create a strong practical barrier to counterfeit cards, making the statement true.