Products

Smart cards

Small cards performing big

Smart cards are indispensable tools in modern-day organizations. They play a crucial role in the area of personal authentication and they are true all-stars. They can be used for an almost infinite amount of identification and authentication processes.

Smart cards are microprocessor cards and contain a full-scale computer with CPU, RAM, ROM and EEPROM. Smart cards can store a large amount of data in their memory. Thanks to their unsurpassed safety and protection mechanisms, microprocessor cards are ideal for sensible data. Using crytographic algorithms, they encrypt data to provide the highest standard of authentication and privacy available on the market. This ensures protection against unauthorized access and manipulation. Among others, biometric processes can be employed. Smart cards are used for identification and authorization purposes and ensure an unsurpassed level of continuity, integrity and reliability.

Sophisticated technology for maximum protection

Relying on sophisticated technology, chip cards offer an elegant solution to the apparent contradiction between information and data protection. At the same time, smart cards offer maximum security by employing two-factor authentication processes: knowing and owning. This means that the user in question must both own the smart card and know the PIN code. It is the correct combination of both that grants access to data and applications. Users' access data cannot be copied, modified or used without authorization. Secure authentication and secure logon to the network, the client's PC or the client's application are ensured at all times, because smart cards store private keys, passwords and digital certificates as secure as in if it were in a safe.

Smart cards are available as contact cards, contactless cards, hybrid cards that combine both or with dual interface technology. They meet DIN ISO 7816 standard requirements and may be made of polycarbonate (PC), polyvinyl chloride (PVC) or polyethylene terephthalate (PET). The surface of smart cards may be personalized, e.g. using heat-transfer printing or laser engraving.

Several manufacturers offer proprietary card management systems for smart cards, based on Java™ or Multos. The differences between these systems lie in the size of the EEPROM memory (32k, 64k, 72k etc.) and different certifications (CC, ITSEC, FIPS), among others.

IDpendant offers smart cards of different materials and trusts card management systems by the following manufacturers:

• SafeNet / Aladdin
• Athena SCS
• Gemalto
• Giesecke & Devrient
• NXP/IBM
• Siemens

If you would like additional information or if you are interested in products by other manufacturers, please do not hesitate to contact us at info(at)idpendant.com.