What Makes a Smart Card Secure?
The SmartCard Alliance has announced a new white paper titled "What Makes a Smart Card Secure?" that was developed by the Smart Card Alliance Contactless and Mobile Payment Council’s Security Work Group "to provide an overview of smart card security features and other security designs inherent in smart card-based systems."
“Smart card technology is an essential ingredient that brings a higher level of security to payment and identity systems worldwide,” said Randy Vanderhoof, executive director of the Smart Card Alliance. “Our newest report details how smart card technology uses secure integrated circuits as the core of the technology, and explains the unique security benefits this provides to personal secure devices such as cards, USB tokens, SIM modules or embedded chips. Readers will also learn how smart card technology and secure microcontrollers enable additional system-level security measures, and how these multiple layers work together to better protect the system and its information from unauthorized users.”
The white paper describes security considerations for organizations that are intending to deploy smart card technology for payment, security or identity applications. It answers the following questions:
- Smart cards contain secure integrated circuits (IC). What is a secure IC, and what types of secure ICs are used in smart cards?
- What security features are designed into secure memory ICs and secure microcontrollers that protect data and thwart attempted attacks?
- What is the impact of contact and contactless interfaces on security?
- What types of cryptographic technologies are implemented with smart cards and how are they used to protect information and transactions?
- How do smart cards fit into overall system security? How is the financial industry using smart cards to improve the security of credit and debit payments?
- What industry certifications and evaluations are available that organizations can use to gain confidence in the security implemented in various smart card products and in the interoperability of the technology among various component suppliers?
Smart Card Alliance Contactless and Mobile Payment Council members involved in the development of this report include Discover Financial Services, First Data Corporation, Giesecke & Devrient, IBM, IfD Consulting, Infineon Technologies, INSIDE Contactless, JCB International, NBS Technologies, NXP Semiconductors, Texas Instruments, Thales, Unisys, Venyon and ViVOtech.
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