BUS 620

Research Abstract Two

“Smart Cards”

 

What is a Smart Card

 

A smart card resembles a credit card in size and shape, but inside it is completely different. First of all it has an inside whereas a normal credit card does not. The inside of a smart card contains an embedded 8-bit microprocessor (first generation cards). The microprocessor is located under a gold contact pad on one side of the card. Think of the microprocessor as replacing the usual magnetic stripe on a credit card or debit card.

The microprocessor on the smart card is there for security. The host computer and card reader actually "talk" to the microprocessor. The microprocessor enforces access to the data on the card. If the host computer read and wrote the smart card's random access memory (RAM), it would be no different than a diskette. [How stuff Works]

Smart Card Technology

First generation smarts cards may have up to 1 Kbytes of RAM, 16 Kbytes of programmable read only memory, 24 Kbytes of read only memory (ROM), with an 8-bit microprocessor running at 5 MHz. The Microprocessor Unit (MPU) executes programmed instructions.

Typically, older version smart cards are based on relatively slow, 8-bit embedded micro controllers. The trend during the 1990s has been toward using customized controllers with a 32-bit Reduced Instruction Set Computing (RISC) processor running at 25 to 32 MHz.  The smart card uses a serial interface and receives its power from external sources like a card reader. The processor uses a limited instruction set for applications such as cryptography. [CardWerk]

Common Smart Card Applications

The most common smart card applications are: