Most credit cards today use magnetic strips(磁条) that hold the encrypted(加密)data about the owner'

D
Most credit cards today use magnetic strips(磁条) that hold the encrypted(加密)data about the owner's bank account and personal identification number called a PIN. Other credit cards hold the data in memory chips that communicate wirelessly with card readers. Both systems are easy to be attacked. Criminals can secretly find a way to enter the computer systems of the banks or retailers(零售商), and steal the data illegally or,as in the case of Target,disturb the card readers in stores by implanting virus.
Now, scientists in Britain say they are developing a way to make encrypted data more secure by storing it in the plastic itself. Gordon Smith, a retired professor at Warwick Manufacturing Group, at the University of Warwick, says researchers are using a plastic molding(模具) machine to encrypt data with the colors of the card. "As it's making that plastic from a molten plastic into a solid component, we are moving the pigments(颜料) so that they form specific images.The way the pigment is arranged in a particular way inside the plastic ensures the security of the data.When the card is passed through a special scanner,similar to magnetic strip readers,the software reads the fixed image containing the data."When we first developed the images within the plastic,it looked as though it would just be an artistic aspect to it,but then we've realized that once we could make it covert,we could color the plastic so that the image was hidden,then it became something a lot more special.
Smith admits the system could be compromised if someone discovers how the card was made, but says that's unlikely. The counterfeiter would need to have access to an injection molding machine that costs more than $300,000.
The patent for this new method is not yet officially recognized,and it has not been used commercially at all. But Smith says some credit card companies have already indicated they are interested in the technology.
12. How do criminals threaten today's credit cards?
A. By robbing the users and damaging their cards.
B. By stealing the cards from banks or supermarkets.
C. By copying the card readers and using them in stores.
D. By programming the computer with virus to damage the data.
13. What can we know about the new way of encrypting data?
A. The data is not stored in the computer. B. The data is secured by the colors of the card.
C. The data is invisible to criminals. D. The data is hidden in a complex chip.
14. Why will the new encrypting system be much safer?
A. The card is made of plastics.
B. The system is secured with memory chips.
C. The injection molding machine is expensive.
D. Credit card companies will produce the cards secretly.
15. What does the underlined word "counterfeiter" refer to in Paragraph 3?
A. Criminal. B. Inventor. C. Discoverer. D. Banker.
【答案】12. D    13. B    14. C    15. A
【解析】