SAMSUNG Introduces Smart Card IC for Security Sensitive Applications
Samsung presented today two chips designed for combination (contact and non-contact) smart cards, in 72KB and 144KB capacities with embedded EEPROM. These have been given Common Criteria (CC) certification and an Evaluation Assurance Level (EAL) 4+ rating. Samsung now satisfies the product standards used in such smart card applications as electronic passports and electronic identification, which require an extremely high level of data security.
Samsung’s Common Criteria compliant smart card IC for electronic passports supports the high-performance and high-level security requirements for applications carrying personal information” said Chilhee Jung, senior vice president, System LSI division, Samsung Electronics.
“Samsung has expanded its portfolio of high-performance smart card IC solutions from its strong SIM-based technology solutions to smart cards designed for financial, identification and security applications.”
Samsung’s newly certified portfolio includes both a 72KB and a 144KB smart card IC, the latter being the highest capacity currently available. Both ICs offer sufficient storage space for diverse biological data (face, fingerprints, retina, and genetic makeup) required by biometric identification systems.
In 1999, CC certification was selected as the international standard for assessing a product’s data security capabilities. CC provides the basis for confirming the reliability and safety of security-related functions in IC cards used in electronic IDs, electronic passports, and electronic driver’s licenses. Higher EAL ratings indicate more accurate and effective data security capabilities. An EAL 4+ rating is required for products such as electronic passports that have strict security requirements.
Samsung’s smart card IC provides high performance and high reliability for protecting user-identity. The new combination smart card consists of a high-performance, 16-bit CalmRISCTM CPU, an RSA public key encryption algorithm, a Triple-DES (a symmetric key algorithm for encryption), and an advanced encryption standard (AES) algorithm. An attack-prevention design technology has also been applied to help prevent the possibility of personal data loss to hackers.
Also built into the smart cards is the International Standards Organization (ISO) 14443 A/B type contactless function, providing fast and stable data links between the card and the card reader in non-contact situations.
Comments