ABSTRACT
Smart Cards are often touted as “secure” portable storage devices. A complete, high-level design
metodology has been proposed for embedded information systems based on smart card devices.
However, this metodology takes as granted that informations stored on the card will be really
securely stored, and access control will be correctly maintained. Unfortunately, standards and
specifications, created by hardware and software vendors for both the card hardware and the micro
operating system which runs it have been repeatedly proven not as secure as they are commonly
supposed to be.
In this paper we try to analyze the faults in existing standards and implementations of content
security for smart card embedded information systems, and we try to suggest possible ways (both
hardware and software) to prevent security leaks. This paper does not provide breaking news, but
rather tries to sum up the known techniquest to attack smart card devices.
1 SMART CARD CONCEPTS
1.1 CARD TYPES. WHAT IS SMART ?
The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) standard 78101 "Identification Cards –
Physical Characteristics" defines physical properties such as flexibility, temperature resistance, and
dimensions for three different card formats (ID-1, ID-2, and ID-3).
There are different types of ID-1 format cards, each specified by a different substandard2:
Embossed cards: embossing allows for textual information or designs on the card to be transferred
to paper by using a simple and inexpensive device. ISO 78113 specifies the embossed marks,
covering their form, size, embossing height, and positioning. Transfer of information via embossing
may seem primitive, but the simplicity of the system has made worldwide proliferation possible.
Magnetic Stripe: the primary advantage that magnetic stripe technology offers over embossing is
a reduction in the flood of paper documents. Parts 2, 4, and 5 of ISO 7811 specify the properties of
the magnetic stripe, coding techniques, and positioning. The stripe’s storage capacity is about 1000
bits and anyone with the appropriate read/write device can view or alter the data.
Integrated Circuit cards (smart cards): these are the newest and most clever additions to the ID-1
family, and they also follow the details laid down in the ISO 78164 series. These types of cards
allow far greater orders of magnitude in terms of data storage – cards with over 20 Kbytes of
memory are currently available. Also, and perhaps most important, the stored data can be protected
against unauthorized access and tampering. Memory functions such as reading, writing, and erasing
can be linked to specific conditions, controlled by both hardware and software. Another advantage
of smartcards over magnetic stripe cards is that they are more reliable and have longer expected
lifetimes.
Memory Cards: though often also referred to as smartcards, memory cards are typically much less
expensive and much less functional than microprocessor cards. They contain EEPROM and ROM
memory, as well as some address and security logic. In the simplest designs, logic exists to prevent
writing and erasing of the data. More complex designs allow for memory read access to be
restricted. Since they cannot directly manipulate data they are dependent on the card reader (also
known as the card-accepting device) for their processing and are suitable for uses where the card
performs a fixed operation. Typical memory card applications are pre-paid telephone cards and
health insurance cards.
Contactless Smartcards: though the reliability of smartcard contacts has improved to very
acceptable levels over the years, contacts are one of the most frequent failure points any
electromechanical system due to dirt, wear, etc. The contactless card solves this problem and also
provides the issuer an interesting range of new possibilities during use. Cards need no longer be
inserted into a reader, which could improve end user acceptance. No chip contacts are visible on the
surface of the card so that card graphics can express more freedom. Still, despite these benefits,
contactless cards have not yet seen wide acceptance. The cost is higher and not enough experience
has been gained to make the technology reliable. Nevertheless, this elegant solution will likely have
its day in the sun at some time in the future.
Optical Memory Cards: ISO/IEC standards 116935 and 116946 define standards for optical
memory cards. These cards look like a card with a piece of a CD glued on top - which is basically
what they are. They can carry many megabytes of data, but can only be written once and never
erased with today’s technology. Today, these cards have no processor in them (although this is
coming in the near future). While the cards are comparable in price to chip cards, the card read and
write devices use non-standard protocols and are still very expensive. However such cards may find
use in applications such as health care where large amounts of data must be stored


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