Smart card
A smart card, chip card, or integrated circuit(s) card (ICC), is defined as any pocket-sized card with embedded integrated circuits. Although there is a diverse range of applications, there are two broad categories of ICCs. Memory cards contain only non-volatile memory storage components, and perhaps some specific security logic. Microprocessor cards contain memory and microprocessor components.
The standard perception of a "smart card" is a microprocessor card of credit card dimensions (or smaller, e.g. the GSM SIM card) with various tamper-resistant properties (e.g. a secure crypto-processor, secure file system, human-readable features) and is capable of providing security services (e.g. confidentiality of information in the memory). Not all chip cards contain a microprocessor (eg. the memory cards), therefore not all chip cards are necessarily also smart cards. However the public usage of the terminology is often inconsistent.
History
Smart cards were invented and patented in the 1970s. There are some disputes regarding the actual "inventor"; claimants include Juergen Dethloff of Germany, Arimura of Japan, and Moreno of France. The first mass use of the cards was for payment in French pay phones, starting in 1983 (Télécarte).
The second use was with the integration of a microchips into all French debit cards (Carte Bleue) completed in 1992. When paying in France with a Carte Bleue, one inserts the card into the merchant's terminal, then types the PIN, before the transaction is accepted. Only very limited transactions (such as paying small autoroute tolls) are accepted without PIN.
Smart-card-based electronic purse systems (in which value is stored on the card chip, not in an externally recorded account) were tried throughout Europe from the mid-1990s, most notably in Germany (Geldkarte), Belgium (Proton), the Netherlands (Chipknip and Chipper), Switzerland ("Cash"), Sweden ("Cash"), UK ("Mondex") and Denmark ("Danmont"). None of these programs attracted any notable public interest, and usage levels remained low to negligible.
The major boom in smart card use came in the 1990s, with the introduction of the smart-card-based SIM used in GSM mobile phone equipment in Europe.
The international payment brands MasterCard, Visa, and Europay agreed in 1993 to work together to develop the specifications for the use of smart cards in payment cards used as either a debit or a credit card. The first version was released in 1994. In 1998 a stable release of the specifications was available. EMVco [www.emvco.org] the company responsible for the long-term maintenance upgraded the specification in 2000 and most recently in 2004. The goal of EMVco is to assure the various financial institutions and retails that the specifications remain backward compatibility with the 1998 version.
With the exception of the United States and Australia there has been significant progress in the deployment of EMV compliant point of sale equipment and the issuance of debit and or credit cards adhering the EMV specifications. Typically a countries national payment association in coordination with MasterCard, International, Visa International, American Express and JCB develop detailed implementation plans assuring a coordinated effort by the various stakeholders involved.
The introduction of EMV is a paradigm in the way one looks at payment systems. In many cases banks are considering issuing one card that will serve as both a debit card and as a credit card. Within EMV a concept called Application Selection defines how the consumer selects which means of payment to employ for that purchase at the point of sale.
For the banks interested in introducing smart cards the only quantifiable benefit is the ability to forecast a significant reduction in fraud, in particular counterfeit, lost and stolen. The current level of fraud a country is experiencing determines if there is a business case for the financial institutions. Some critics claim that the savings are far less than the cost of implementing EMV, and thus many believe that the USA payments industry will opt to wait out the current EMV life cycle in order to implement new, contactless technology.
However, the rest of the world is migrating to EMV and as other countries become protected the history reminds us that the criminals involved in payment card fraud will and are moving away from countries that have implemented EMV to those that have not. A specific example of how fraud migrates was seen recently in Malaysia. When they achieved critical mass a in 2004, their level of fraud dropped radically, unfortunately across the border, in Thailand, who had not yet decided to introduce EMV fraud, they saw an alarmingly increase.
Smart cards with contactless interfaces are becoming increasingly popular for payment and ticketing applications such as for mass transit. Visa and MasterCard have agreed to a easy to implement version currently being deployed (2004-2006) in the USA. This version does not achieve the fraud saving attributable to EMV and eventually will be replaced with a standard emerging out of EMVco.
Across the global, contactless fare collection systems are being implemented to drive efficiencies in public transit. The various standards emerging are local in focus and are not compatible.
Smart cards are also being introduced in personal identification and entitlement schemes at regional, national, and international levels. Citizen cards, drivers’ licences, and patient card schemes are becoming more prevalent, and contactless smart cards are being integrated into passports ICAO to enhance security for international travel.
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Contact Smart Card
The ISO/IEC 7816 and ISO/IEC 7810 series of standards define:
- the physical shape
- the positions and shapes of the electrical connectors
- the electrical characteristics
- the communications protocols
- the format of the commands sent to the card and the responses returned by the card
- robustness of the card
- the functionality
The cards do not contain batteries; energy is supplied by the card readers.
- Contact Smart Card Reader ***
Contact smart card readers are used as a communications medium between the smart card and a host, e.g. a computer.
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Contactless Smart Card
A second type is the contactless smart card, in which the chip communicates with the card reader through RFID induction technology (at data rates of 106 to 848 kb/s).
The standard for contactless smart card communications is ISO/IEC 14443, dated 2001. It defines two types of contactless cards ("A" and "B"), allows for communications at distances up to 10 cm. There have been proposals for ISO 14443 types C, D, E and F that have yet to complete the standards process. An alternative standard for contactless smart cards is ISO 15693, which allows communications at distances up to 50 cm.
An example of a widely used contactless smart card is Hong Kong's Octopus card, which predates the ISO/IEC 14443 standard. The following table lists smart cards used for public transportation.
A related contactless technology is RFID (radio frequency identification). In certain cases, it can be used for applications similar to those of contactless smart cards, such as for electronic toll collection. RFID’s usually do not include writeable memory or microcontroller processing capability as contactless smart cards often do.
There are dual-interface cards that implement contactless and contact interfaces on a single card with some shared storage and processing. An example is Malaysia's multi-application identification card, called MyKad, that uses both contact Proton and contactless MIFARE (ISO 14443A) chips.
Like smart cards with contacts, contactless cards do not have a battery. Instead, they use a built-in inductor to capture some of the incident radio-frequency interrogation signal, rectify it, and use it to power the card's electronics.
Applications
The applications of smart cards include their use as credit or ATM cards, SIMs for mobile phones, authorization cards for pay television, high-security identification and access-control cards, and public transport payment cards.
Smart cards may also be used as electronic wallets. The smart card chip can be loaded with funds which can be spent in parking meters and vending machines or at various merchants. Cryptographic protocols protect the exchange of money between the smart card and the accepting machine. Examples are Proton, GeldKarte, Moneo and Quick.
A quickly growing application is in digital identification cards. In this application, the cards are used for authentication of identity. The most common example is in conjunction with a Public Key Infastructure (PKI). The smart card will store an encrypted digital certificate issued from the PKI along with any other relevant or needed information about the card holder. Examples include the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) Common Access Card (CAC), and the use of various smart cards by many governments as identification cards for their citizens. When combined with biometrics, smart cards can provide two- or three-factor authentication. Smart cards are a privacy-enhancing technology, and when used in conjunction with appropriate security and privacy policies, can be part of a highly effective authentication system.
Smart cards have been advertised as suitable for these tasks, because they are engineered to be tamper resistant. The embedded chip of a smart card usually implements some cryptographic algorithm. Information about the inner workings of this algorithm can be obtained if the precise time and electrical current required for certain encryption or decryption operations is measured. A number of research projects have now demonstrated the feasibility of this line of attack. Countermeasures have been proposed.
Another problem of smart cards may be the failure rate. The plastic card in which the chip is embedded is fairly flexible, and the larger the chip, the higher the probability of breaking. Smart cards are often carried in wallets or pockets — a fairly harsh environment for a chip. However, for large banking systems, the failure-management cost can be more than offset by the fraud reduction.
See also
External links
- Smart Card Tutorial
- Introduction to Smart Cards
- Smart Card Alliance.
- OpenSC (open source smart card framework).
- The Open Card Consortium.
Patents
- U.S. patent 3,971,916 -- Methods of data storage and data storage systems
- U.S. patent 4,007,355 -- Data-transfer system
- U.S. patent 4,092,524 -- Systems for storing and transferring data
- U.S. patent 4,102,493 -- Systems for storing and transferring data
More information, research, and news on smart cards
Manufacturers of smart cards
- Advanced Card Systems Ltd (ACS)
- Ask
- Axalto
- CardLogix
- Gemplus
- Giesecke & Devrient
- IBM
- ID TECH
- I'M Technologies
- InSeal Contactless
- Incard S.r.l.
- MaskTech
- Oberthur Card Systems
- ORGA Kartensysteme GmbH
- On Track Innovations Ltd (OTI)
- Setec
- Sharp
- Siemens
- Smart Card Integrators
- Telesec
- CircleSmartCard
- Zetes
- PRISM
- TechCard
Manufacturers of smart-card readers
Manufacturers of chips used in smart cards
- Atmel
- Infineon
- Philips/Mifare
- Renesas
- STMicroelectonics
- Inside Contactless (Dedicated to contactless smart cards)
- My-MS
Applications of smart cards
- PC/SC Specifications
- Smart Card Counting Equipment Vendor
- Fortress GB - contact/contactless smart card application developer
- i-Card Security Solutions - smartcard-based access control and use application developer