52 lines
2.8 KiB
Plaintext
52 lines
2.8 KiB
Plaintext
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SMART CARDS
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by Morcc/THC
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New applications for smart cards are being discovered on a daily basis,
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overriding former simple uses such as memory cards (telephone cards)
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which have been dominant to date. Today, with an expanding market for
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highly sophisticated applications, the time for the smart card has come.
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Examples of these "smarter" cards are SiM cards for the C and D nets of the
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mobile phone networks of German Telekom & Mannesman, banking cards, ID cards
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and access control cards. Smart cards are also synonymous with security.
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Smart cards are used for communication. The information they contain is
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requested by reader devices and then forwarded to further processing.
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Within then GSM network the card has the function of a key. As a SiM it
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allows access to the network. To ensure that smart cards and terminals
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communicate correctly and that data is exchanged smoothly and without
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error, some companies offer a SiM simulator which reproduces the behaviour
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of the card during the session with the terminal and creates a protocol log
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of the procedure. The SiM simulator is very interesting, it looks a little
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bit weird but that doesn't matter. One of these SiM simulators is called
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Test SiM and its main area of application is in spot checks during quality
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tests, i.e. during the development of mobile telephones. The SiM editor is
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the software which is used to r/w to the card's memory. One of these
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editors is called Dr. SiM, a very popular device, because every fool can
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operate it. Some smart card companies already developed cards for UNiX
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computer security. This is secured for workstations within a UNiX LAN.
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The system is called X-Secure. The user identifies himself with a personal
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ID number whichis on the card. A two-way dialogue then takes place between
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the card and the computer, involving high security checks. Once access has
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been granted, the user can use the system.
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In the future we will all use smart cards. As a electronic wallet, for
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medical purposes, electronic locking, systematic traffic control and
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electronic toll collection. Security will be better and better, but there
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are always ways around it. The best way to get good information is to call
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one of the smart card companies and tell them you're Mr. X from the X company
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and that you're interested in the smart card technology because you're planning
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to use smart cards in the company. If you have the right feeling how to talk
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with people on the phone you'll get the best informations.
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If you don't know numbers of such companies, here are some of them...
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Germany +49-5254-991-0
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UK +44-1491-41-0997
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USA +1-610-993-9810
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I hope that you know have a basic idea of smart cards and that you want to
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know more about it. Go ahead! Start with collecting more information.
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Bye,
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Morcc/THC
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