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Smart
Cards
A smart card is a plastic card that contains an embedded integrated
circuit (IC). A smart card resembles a credit card. When used as a
SIM card, the plastic card is small - just big enough to fit inside
a cell phone. Smart cards are highly secure by design, and tampering
with one results in the destruction of the information it contains.
In some areas of use smart cards are just memory cards that merely
provide protected non-volatile storage. More advanced smart cards
have both microprocessors and memory, for secure processing and
storage, and can be used for security applications that use
public-key or shared-key algorithms. The non-volatile memory in a
smart card is its most precious resource and can be used to store
secret keys and digital certificates. Some smart cards have separate
cryptographic coprocessors that support such algorithms as RSA, AEC,
and triple DES. |
Smart cards don't contain a battery, and become active only when
connected with a card reader. When connected, after performing a
reset sequence the card remains passive, waiting to receive a
command request from a client (host) application.
Smart cards can be contact or contactless.
As the names imply, contact smart cards work by communicating via
physical contact between a card reader and the smart card's 8-pin
contact, while contactless smart cards communicate by means of a
radio frequency signal, with a typical range of less than 2 feet.
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