Smart card manufacturers Giesecke & Devrient (G&D) and Oberthur Technologies, and chip suppliers Infineon Technologies AG and INSIDE Contactless have announced the launch of an industry initiative to provide “a new security solution for next-generation smart card based public transport applications. The solution will build on an open standard now being implemented by the four partner companies, which will eventually be governed by an independent body. Companies active in the smart card arena - providers of chips, smart cards, application-specific operating software, reader devices and transportation systems - are invited to join the initiative for the advancement of more secure public transportation applications.”

The new standard promises to bring a number of key benefits to both public transport agencies and smart card industry players, including higher performance and advanced system security for public transport applications, as well as the availability of multiple sources for chip products. Through independent testing, the open standard will also provide optimized interoperability to enable simple and fast integration into public transport schemes. The first emulation chips and transportation smart cards using this standard are scheduled to be available by the end of 2010.

The industry initiative is based on groundwork performed by Infineon, the world’s number one chip card IC (integrated circuits) provider. Infineon has developed a hardware-based security system specifically suited for public transportation smart card applications. It is comprised of a specific authentication scheme using the open and well-accepted Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) with 128-bit key length and file types and command sets based on the ISO/IEC 7816 standard. Employing AES, an encryption algorithm also used for commercial transactions, will significantly increase security over less-robust security schemes widely used in current public transportation systems. Using the encryption and secure messaging scheme for authentication, data encryption and Message Authentication Coding (MACing) allows high flexibility and fast adoption for different applications. Infineon, which has already started its own chip development based on the open standard security system, has verified the feasibility of the authentication scheme, enabling the other manufacturers to start their development work immediately.

The fabless semiconductor company INSIDE Contactless, the world’s largest chip provider for contactless payment cards, has already signed an agreement with Infineon to implement the security scheme for its chip platforms. In addition, two of the world’s top three card manufacturers, G&D and Oberthur Technologies, have already agreed to develop public transport applications based on the scheme.

“INSIDE Contactless is proud to be among the initial partner companies of this new initiative, and we are eager to contribute our experience and develop products for this effort as an advanced, open standard is very much needed especially for higher value transport smart cards, which might eventually converge with payment cards,” said Remy de Tonnac, CEO at INSIDE Contactless. “With the convergence of contactless payments and transit fare collection in contactless smart cards and NFC enabled mobile phones, INSIDE envisions implementation to the open security standard across all our product lines.”

“We see a strong trend towards convergence of secure solutions for transit, between tickets and mobile phones with NFC, and between transit and other payment schemes. As a major player in all these markets, G&D is committed to play a key role in achieving open standards needed to support this convergence. This initiative provides an attractive alternative to existing technologies, and G&D will fully support it with its application security expertise,” said Willem Bulthuis, CTO and Group Vice President of Giesecke & Devrient.

“Oberthur Technologies has always supported open standards. As a major actor in the public transportation market segment, we will actively participate in this initiative which aims at delivering increased interoperability and security at lower cost. This open standard will facilitate the deployment of transit systems using multiple end-user devices including multi-application payment cards and NFC phones,” said FrŽdŽric Chevreton, General Manager of the Payment and Transport Product Line at the Card Systems Division of Oberthur Technologies.

“This initiative of four smart card heavyweights sets forth a new open platform with enhanced security compared to current solutions in public transportation, one of the fastest growing smart card segments,” said Dr. Helmut Gassel, President of the Chip Card & Security Division at Infineon Technologies. “Open systems provide global interoperability of reliable components from multiple sources under fair and reasonable business terms. Infineon contributes contactless excellence and tailored security with the right level of security at best cost-performance ratio to help to advance both current and future transportation applications.”

One of the largest deployments of healthcare smart cards in the world is on hold, pending review of the security and confidentiality of the program, which was intended to mobilize health data for 80 million people in Germany.
Citing a BMJ report, E-Health Europe says that the new coalition government in Germany will take a closer look at how to safeguard health information on electronic cards, in response to long-held concerns from physicians and security consultants. German Health Minister Philipp Rösler says that the rollout for now will be restricted to certain trial areas and will keep most clinical information off the cards. Instead, the cards will contain only a photograph, patient demographic information and insurance status. With patient consent, the health officials will add a limited clinical record for emergency use only.
The program has been plagued with delays and cost overruns for several years. All 80 million people on German health plans were to be using the cards at clinics, hospitals and pharmacies nationwide by January 2006.

Read more: Germany halts smart-card program for security review - FierceMobileHealthcare http://www.fiercemobilehealthcare.com/story/germany-halts-smart-card-program-security-review/2010-01-26#ixzz0vHZtko1u
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ORCA transit smart cards will be available for free through Feb. 28.
Starting March 1, a standard adult or youth ORCA card will cost $5. The free-card promotion had been scheduled to end Jan. 31.
ORCA — for One Regional Card for All — is a collaboration between Metro Transit and transit systems in King, Kitsap, Snohomish and Pierce counties. The plastic card contains a microprocessor; cards come equipped with a so-called e-purse function to allow riders to preload fares onto the card. Customers can also purchase a pass product, like a monthly PugetPass, and then load it onto the smart card.
Buy a card online here or at a Sound Transit vending machine. Standard adult ORCA cards can be purchased from any ticket machine at Central Link light rail stations or Sounder commuter rail stations. Central Link is open seven days a week, so riders can pick up a card at the locations 24/7.
Order a card by phone at 888-988-6722 toll-free.
Or pick up a card at the Metro sales office on the mezzanine level of Westlake Tunnel Station and Metro headquarters in the King Street Center building, 201 S. Jackson St., Seattle. The office will be open Saturdays from Jan. 30 through the end of February.
Transit officials said the extended free-card promotion should help ease the transition to ORCA and reduce the rush for the cards at customer service centers. Each of the ORCA partner agencies took special measures, like increased staff at ticket locations, to meet the high demand.