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Mobile signatures a success claims research
NEWS Samsung SDI developed the display to be just 300µm thick. However, even with the integrated colour display, the data page of the ePassport is still only 700µm thick, the companies claim. The display comprises an active matrix display with organic light emitting diodes (AMOLED). This means that located behind every pixel of the display is an active electronic circuit with low power consumption. AMOLED displays are said to provide excellent colour images and can be produced in much thinner formats that conventional LCDs. The materials used for the display are heatresistant, so that the passport card can be laminated and hence protected against manipulation. The display is activated via the power provided by a contactless reader, so that the document itself does not require any batteries. The suppliers say that it will be possible to retrieve all kinds of information via the display, for instance, a moving passport image of the document holder, as well as text-based information, such as the passport holder’s address. “With our innovative, trailblazing technology, such as ‘video identification on card’, we are speeding up border control procedures and, at the same time, setting a new milestone in protection against forgery,” says Ulrich Hamann, CEO of Bundesdruckerei. The integrated display technology could display, for example, documented border crossings, which are usually represented by physical stamps within the passport booklet. The companies say that complex security processes ensure that only authorised individuals can add data. Future documents will themselves be able to provide all the means necessary for authentication. This would mean that the personal data would no longer have to be transmitted to special reading devices, but would remain exclusively in the document and hence in the document holder’s sovereignty.
mobile authentication
Mobile signatures a success claims research
N
ew research by Forrester Research has concluded that mobile signatures could become a great success in the future, despite the fact that setting up a mobile signature service is complex and has yet to gain a truly solid footing in many markets. According to Bill Nagel, author of the research, “mobile authentication has taken
May 2008
hold in lots of countries - mobile signatures are a logical extension.” Mobile signatures are potentially able to transform any mobile phone into an identity card and signature pen for online and mobile services. A user-chosen numerical password, or signing PIN, tells the SIM card to generate a digital signature. The digital signature is then sent via encrypted SMS; the password remains inside the secure SIM and is not exposed over any network. Beyond secure online banking and eCommerce, mobile signatures enable, “a wide range of other new value-added consumer and corporate services, all based on the concept that a mobile phone and SIM card are the smart card and reader you always have with you,” says Nagel. “Consumers receive a clear benefit from mobile signature services: the ability to access online and mobile banking services without having to carry a separate token, as well as take advantage of previously immobile services like signing documents on the fly, verifying someone’s age, accessing government services, and topping up their phones.” The entire report - Extending Mobile identity Beyond Authentication - can be downloaded from www.valimo.com.
financial results
Oberthur Technologies has positive first quarter…
F
rench smart card manufacturer Oberthur Technologies has reported a first quarter 2008 revenue of 184.3 million euros representing a yearon-year increase of 13% at constant exchange rates or 8.8% at current rates. During the first quarter, the company’s card activities saw an 11.6% growth in sales, reaching 149.4 million euros. Meanwhile, 115 million microprocessor cards were delivered, a 45% increase in volume compared to Q1 2007. Looking at the company’s various target markets, Oberthur said that demand in the SIM market was sustained with 71 million SIM cards delivered during the quarter, a 58% increase compared to the same period a year ago. Sales in the SIM card sub-segment amounted to 51.5 million euros, up 29% year-on-year.
IN BRIEF • Gemalto and McAfee have introduced a twofactor authentication solution for full disk encryption. Both the Gemalto .NET smart card and their Smart Enterprise Guardian (SEG) digital security device have been tested and validated for compatibility with the McAfee Endpoint Encryption solution and McAfee Total Protection for Data. McAfee Endpoint Encryption includes full disk encryption to ensure security of information stored on desktops, laptops, tablets and other mobile devices. The encryption is transparent to the user and performed “on the fly” so it does not affect user productivity. Users must insert their Gemalto digital security device and enter a passphrase or PIN before being authorized to access the system data. • SCM Microsystems has announced its results for the first quarter ended 31 March 2008. Revenue from continuing operations in this quarter was US$6.5 million, down 24% from revenue of US$8.5 million in the first quarter of 2007. According to the company, the decrease was primarily due to a significant reduction in sales of smart card readers for US government authentication programs in the first quarter of 2008, as a result of slower than expected project deployment schedules and overall weaker demand from this market. By product segment, first quarter 2008 PC security revenue was US$5.0 million, reflecting sales of smart card readers and other products for secure network and physical access, down 30% from US$7.1 million in the first quarter of 2007. Despite the results, the company still expects to achieve revenue growth of between 25% and 35% for the fiscal year 2008. • KSW Microtec, a supplier of RFID components for secure smart cards, has launched its new UHF polycarbonate inlay for securitycritical applications in the government and enterprise ID sectors. The latest polycarbonate tag, which can be produced in roll or sheet format, is laminated into a polycarbonate card, ensuring a matching material connection and safeguarding against card delamination. • A major European bank has awarded a contract to XIRING to provide 400,000 XiSign 4000 authentication solutions to secure online banking services. Xi-Sign 4000 is a personal solution based on Remote Card Authentication technology, in the shape of a pocket card reader. This contract will be deployed in a European country which until now has not distributed this kind of technology to its e-banking customers. The bank is expected to unveil its name and operational details at the beginning of the deployment.
Card Technology Today
5
mobile authentication
Mobile signatures a success claims research
N
ew research by Forrester Research has concluded that mobile signatures could become a great success in the future, despite the fact that setting up a mobile signature service is complex and has yet to gain a truly solid footing in many markets. According to Bill Nagel, author of the research, “mobile authentication has taken
May 2008
hold in lots of countries - mobile signatures are a logical extension.” Mobile signatures are potentially able to transform any mobile phone into an identity card and signature pen for online and mobile services. A user-chosen numerical password, or signing PIN, tells the SIM card to generate a digital signature. The digital signature is then sent via encrypted SMS; the password remains inside the secure SIM and is not exposed over any network. Beyond secure online banking and eCommerce, mobile signatures enable, “a wide range of other new value-added consumer and corporate services, all based on the concept that a mobile phone and SIM card are the smart card and reader you always have with you,” says Nagel. “Consumers receive a clear benefit from mobile signature services: the ability to access online and mobile banking services without having to carry a separate token, as well as take advantage of previously immobile services like signing documents on the fly, verifying someone’s age, accessing government services, and topping up their phones.” The entire report - Extending Mobile identity Beyond Authentication - can be downloaded from www.valimo.com.
financial results
Oberthur Technologies has positive first quarter…
F
rench smart card manufacturer Oberthur Technologies has reported a first quarter 2008 revenue of 184.3 million euros representing a yearon-year increase of 13% at constant exchange rates or 8.8% at current rates. During the first quarter, the company’s card activities saw an 11.6% growth in sales, reaching 149.4 million euros. Meanwhile, 115 million microprocessor cards were delivered, a 45% increase in volume compared to Q1 2007. Looking at the company’s various target markets, Oberthur said that demand in the SIM market was sustained with 71 million SIM cards delivered during the quarter, a 58% increase compared to the same period a year ago. Sales in the SIM card sub-segment amounted to 51.5 million euros, up 29% year-on-year.
IN BRIEF • Gemalto and McAfee have introduced a twofactor authentication solution for full disk encryption. Both the Gemalto .NET smart card and their Smart Enterprise Guardian (SEG) digital security device have been tested and validated for compatibility with the McAfee Endpoint Encryption solution and McAfee Total Protection for Data. McAfee Endpoint Encryption includes full disk encryption to ensure security of information stored on desktops, laptops, tablets and other mobile devices. The encryption is transparent to the user and performed “on the fly” so it does not affect user productivity. Users must insert their Gemalto digital security device and enter a passphrase or PIN before being authorized to access the system data. • SCM Microsystems has announced its results for the first quarter ended 31 March 2008. Revenue from continuing operations in this quarter was US$6.5 million, down 24% from revenue of US$8.5 million in the first quarter of 2007. According to the company, the decrease was primarily due to a significant reduction in sales of smart card readers for US government authentication programs in the first quarter of 2008, as a result of slower than expected project deployment schedules and overall weaker demand from this market. By product segment, first quarter 2008 PC security revenue was US$5.0 million, reflecting sales of smart card readers and other products for secure network and physical access, down 30% from US$7.1 million in the first quarter of 2007. Despite the results, the company still expects to achieve revenue growth of between 25% and 35% for the fiscal year 2008. • KSW Microtec, a supplier of RFID components for secure smart cards, has launched its new UHF polycarbonate inlay for securitycritical applications in the government and enterprise ID sectors. The latest polycarbonate tag, which can be produced in roll or sheet format, is laminated into a polycarbonate card, ensuring a matching material connection and safeguarding against card delamination. • A major European bank has awarded a contract to XIRING to provide 400,000 XiSign 4000 authentication solutions to secure online banking services. Xi-Sign 4000 is a personal solution based on Remote Card Authentication technology, in the shape of a pocket card reader. This contract will be deployed in a European country which until now has not distributed this kind of technology to its e-banking customers. The bank is expected to unveil its name and operational details at the beginning of the deployment.
Card Technology Today
5