|
|
a
Overview
|
Applications |
Characteristics |
Integrated Components |
Security
|
|
|
In this section, we are dealing with security-related
items. Smart card can act as an identification card,
which is used to prove the identity of the cardholder.
It also can be a medical card, which stores the medical
history of a person. Furthermore, the smart card can be
used as a credit/debit bankcard, which allows off-line
transactions. All of these applications require
sensitive data to be stored in the card, such as
biometrics information of the card owner, personal
medical history, and cryptographic keys for
authentication, etc. One of the primary benefits of
using smart cards is that they provide a higher level of
security than magnetic stripe cards. These types of
cards are relatively easy to alter, as they provide no
level of security.
|
|
|
|
|
|
In the near future, the traditional magnetic strip card will
be replaced and integrated together into a single card by
using the multi-application smart card, which is known as an
electronic purse or wallet in the smart card industry. The
smart card is becoming more and more significant and will play
an important role in our daily life. It will be used to carry
a lot of sensitive and critical data about the consumers ever
more than before when compared with the magnetic strip card.
Therefore, there are many arguments and issues about whether
or not the smart card is secure and safe enough to store that
information. This has always been a source of controversy.
Over the years, credit-card fraud and counterfeit
magnetic-stripe cards have created huge losses for the
financial industry. The demand for a more effective solution
led to the development of the smart card. Smart card
technology and manufacturing concepts make it possible to
integrate several security features onto the card. Philips
Semiconductor is one of the main suppliers of IC components
that have on-chip crypto system capable of computing
public-key algorithms.
This chip can also generate 512-bit key signatures. The
Department Of Defense will be using these type chips when it
issues the CAC to all military personnel. These cards will
contain Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) certificates and
digital keys. Security algorithms and built-in individual card
Ids mean that each card in unique. Smart card readers are also
being used to provide an extra level of security for smart
cards.
All this security may sound impressive but in an article in
the New York Times of June 10, 1998, states that a team of San
Francisco-based computer scientists has successfully breached
the security system in tamper-resistant smart cards. The
technique used on the tamper-resistant card involves the use
of electrons that the IC uses to do the calculations. By
hooking up an oscilloscope to the card, the scientists were
able to determine the "secret key" by watching the power
surges as the keys scramble the data. This technique was a
blow to the smart card industry that thought these cards were
untouchable by hackers. One analyst stated, that he had
changed his mindset and began to write software in a different
way now.
|
Top |
 |
|
|
