An arrangement for monitoring the security status of an object includes affixing to the object a passive two way communication circuit such as a frangible radio security tag or smart label. The tag or label, when operational, is arranged to receive a remotely generated request for status information and, responsive to the request, to transmit status information to a remote device. The radio tag or label is affixed to the object in a manner so that it is rendered inoperative if the object is tampered with. By remotely monitoring the status information on a periodic basis, the security of the object can thus be determined. The tag can include a circuit built on a substrate that is scored or otherwise rendered breakable along a predetermined axis or in a predetermined direction. This assures that when the object to which the radio tag is affixed is subject to authorized manipulation or tampering, critical components in the tag will in fact break. If desired, the radio tag can be incorporated into a label or other covering to make the radio tag inconspicuous.

A security tag used with an electronic article surveillance system for detecting the presence of the tag within a surveilled area utilizing electromagnetic energy at a frequency within a predetermined detection frequency range includes a dielectric substrate having first and second opposing principle surfaces and a resonant circuit capable of resonating at a frequency within the predetermined detection frequency range. The resonant circuit includes an inductor formed at least in part on one of the principal surfaces of the substrate. A first perforation path formed of a series of spaced apart perforations extends along a line across the substrate and through at least a portion of the inductor such that a stress exerted on the tag breaks the tag and the inductor along the first perforation path, causing an open circuit condition which prevents the resonant circuit from resonating. In use, the security tag is affixed to an article and the stress applied to the article is a result of normal or ordinary use of the article.

A financial transaction terminal is designed to receive both smart cards and debit cards and includes an access port for inserting or removing security modules such as SIM or SAM modules. A security switch arrangement is provided about the access port to protect the now accessible components of the terminal. Such a terminal provides the uncompromised physical security of a debit terminal with the flexibility and capabilities of a smart card terminal.