Contactless Smart Card

Smart cards are like normal credit or debit cards, except that they come in contact with an interface to function. This contact pad is what powers them, transmitting commands and data to the embedded memory chip.

The chip can be physically disassembled using acid or abrasives to gain direct, unrestricted access to the on-board microprocessor. This allows for more detailed analysis of the chip.

Secure data storage

A contactless smart card contains a chip embedded in it that can communicate with a reader without physically touching the device. This chip has internal memory and a microcontroller that enables it to carry out a range of functions. This type of card is used in areas such as e-commerce, personal identification, secure transactions and information security.

In addition to their embedded microprocessors, smart cards have the ability to be encrypted. This feature prevents data theft by making it difficult to intercept communications between the smart card and the reader. This is particularly useful in environments where there is a need for strong information security measures such as banks and credit card companies.

Smart cards are also designed to have secure communications between the chip and readers. This feature helps to protect privacy by ensuring that only the card can read and respond to data transmitted over the card’s radio. This is similar to the security protocol used in many networks and can help to ensure that card and reader communications cannot be intercepted or tapped by third parties.

Embedded microprocessors on smart cards enable them to perform dynamic data processing capabilities. This capability allows them to add, delete, and edit card data as needed. A microcontroller is also used to manage memory space on the card, providing more secure information storage.

Authenticated and authorized information access

The microchip in a contactless smart card is designed with a robust security system that authenticates users and protects information access. For example, the chip can mifare desfire ev2 be programmed to require a user’s personal identification number (PIN) or biometric before releasing any information to the card’s terminal. The microchip also includes a built-in cryptoprocessor that provides strong security services and protects in-memory data.

A contactless smart card can also provide secure communications between the card and its reader by encrypting all data transfers and by ensuring that only authorized readers can communicate with a specific device or with the microchip in a particular smart card. These communication protocols are similar to those used in network security and help ensure that a contactless smart card’s sensitive information does not fall into the wrong hands.

Contactless smart cards can be adapted for multiple applications by changing the firmware or installing additional software on the microchip. This gives organizations the flexibility to integrate a range of different functions into one card, such as physical access control for a door or elevator, logical access for computer workstations with multi factor authentication, and even a secure token for payment processing.

New contactless smart cards are being fabricated using tamper-resistant microcontrollers with advanced digital security technologies. These chips include Smart Shield to protect against reverse engineering, Smart Sensor to detect fault injection, and a Smart Core with a secure CPU contactless smart card and encryption algorithms. The use of a CMOS-based process provides industry-leading reliability and performance, including low power consumption. This helps reduce costs and extend the mechanical life of a contactless smart card.

Secure communications

As organizations move towards storing and releasing information on the Internet, intranets, extranets and beyond, contactless smart cards are becoming more widely used for secure information access. They can verify the identity of the requestor and only provide the required information. They can also support encryption protocols to prevent eavesdropping and protect privacy. Unlike traditional contactless systems that use radio frequency communication, smart card-based devices are powered by magnetic fields generated by the reader. The contactless interface allows for more efficient transmission and speed, but it also introduces security issues.

A relay attack against a contactless smart card involves deceiving the reader into believing that it is in proximity to a card when it is not. To perform the attack two devices are needed, a mole and a proxy. The mole handles the ISO/IEC 14443 communication with the reader and the proxy manages an independent ISO/IEC 14443 communication with a victim card.

The APDU bytes representing a reader command are extracted by the proxy and forwarded to the mole application, and then the mole forwards them to the card through its ISO/IEC 14443 established communication with the reader. As a consequence the response to the APDU bytes is delayed due to the additional communication channel and enables the attacker to run an attack. However, to reduce the impact of such an attack a communication time limit is fixed by the card at the beginning of the interaction: this will not allow the attacker to delay the response for more than 4.95 s.

Interoperability

A smart card has much more to offer than a magnetic stripe card. They are often microprocessor cards that behave like mini computers, and have memory that can store and manipulate data. These memory cards can also be used as a secure storage device. The cards have an embedded antenna that communicates with the reader to power and transmit data. The card and the reader can be separated by a few centimeters, or even meters. This makes contactless cards desirable for many applications. For example, a contactless credit card allows the user to make a payment by tapping it on a reader rather than touching the terminal to swipe it. These cards can be reloadable as well, so that they are suitable for repeated use.

In addition to being highly programmable, smart cards can be securely encrypted to protect the information they contain. This ensures that information is sent between the card and a device only to be read by that particular device or system. This feature is critical for any application that requires high levels of security, and should be designed into the card or document at a systems level by the organization issuing it.

Interoperability refers to the ability of different devices, systems, or platforms to work together. The ability to exchange meaningful data without having to translate it into another format is crucial for achieving interoperability. This includes ensuring that the same programming languages can be used across multiple platforms. This is important because it helps to reduce the barriers that can be created by proprietary or different standards.