What Is a Smart Card System?

The smart card operating system is an operating system proposed by the Software Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences on January 15, 2014.

Smart card operating system

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The smart card operating system is an operating system proposed by the Software Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences on January 15, 2014.

Chinese name

Smart card operating system

Foreign name

Chip Operating System

Presenting unit

Institute of Software, Chinese Academy of Sciences

Presentation time

January 15, 2014

The full name of COS is Chip Operating System, which is generally developed around the characteristics of the smart cards it serves. Because it is inevitably affected by the performance and memory capacity of the microprocessor chip in the smart card, COS is very different from the operating systems on microcomputers that we usually see (such as DOS,

COS is the operating system software that resides in the smart card, similar to the DOS system on a PC, but much simpler than the DOS system. COS is mainly used to receive and process various information sent to the SIM card from the outside (such as mobile phones or card readers), execute various instructions (such as authentication operations) sent by the outside, manage the memory space in the card, and send responses to the outside Information, etc. Generally speaking, the smart card COS system model consists of 4 parts: communication management module, security management module, application processing module, and file management module.

The development of COS first solves the transmission management problem, that is, the I / O problem. The smart card exchanges data with the read-write device through the contact (the non-contact card exchanges data with the read-write device through the field. The international standard that is followed is 14443) It is the realization of the international standard ISO7816-3.

Then comes file management. There must be an access mechanism for all types of files to store user data, which is both efficient and secure. The security system of COS is an important part of COS. It is based on a cryptographic algorithm. Through the cryptographic algorithm, the user's permissions are controlled, and under what circumstances are external operations allowed on the smart card. The command interpretation is the implementation of the commands in the industry specifications and the smart card special commands. A command is sometimes a combination of multiple functions. The command interpretation part must explain the command and control the implementation of various functions according to the authority.

Security is the key link of COS. COS creates a security system and transfers control of this system to customers in a secure manner without leaving any backdoor. Customers will use this security system to protect user data. Once the security control is transferred, the COS developers, like others, intelligently rely on legal permissions to operate the data on the smart card, and there is no other way. Then the difficulty of COS development is to provide the security system used by customers. If someone can find a breach and unauthorized access to the data in the smart card, the COS will fail.

The application of cryptographic technology is an inevitable issue in the field of smart cards. Cryptographic algorithms are not all about information security, but they are definitely one of the important foundations of information security. Without a secure cryptographic algorithm, there would be no information security. The use of password technology can protect the confidentiality, integrity, authenticity and non-repudiation of data. The so-called password is to use an algorithm to transform user data called plaintext with a specific key. This transformation process is called encryption. The encrypted data is unrecognizable and called ciphertext. The plaintext can be recovered by inverse transforming the ciphertext using a specific key and a specified algorithm. The process of inverse transform is called decryption. In modern cryptography, algorithms are public, and what needs to be kept secret is the key.

The external information (instruction or data) enters the COS through the communication management module, and the security management module performs an authentication check on its legitimacy. The application processing module then interprets the meaning (execution, storage) of the external information, and finally the file management module Operate the file in the EEPROM according to the interpretation result of the application processing module.

If the COS needs to respond to external information, the file management module reads the file data in the EEPROM and transmits it to the application processing module, or the application processing module directly extracts the execution results according to the instructions in the external information, and this information or data is safely managed. After the module's authentication check, it is fed back to the outside world through the communication management module to complete a complete processing process.

Traditional COS (Card Operating System) and card applications are developed and loaded into the chip in a secure environment. In recent years, open operating system platforms such as Java CardTM, MultOS, and Windows For Smart Card have achieved significant development. It greatly facilitates the application development of smart IC cards and the realization of multi-use of one card, and allows the card applications to be dynamically loaded, updated or deleted.

Java Card has become the de facto industry standard, based on the Java Virtual Machine (JVM), which supports dynamic download of multiple applications. The Java smart IC card has the characteristics of platform independence, high security, high reliability, and one card for multiple uses. It is suitable for the development of specific occasions, highlighting personal identity verification, and ensuring the consistency of cardholders and credentials during card transactions. .

The combination of Microsoft For IC Card Windows (Windows For Smart Card) and Microsoft Windows operating system will have broad prospects in e-commerce and network security. MULTOS is a multi-application OS that allows card applications to be dynamically loaded, updated, or deleted during the effective life cycle of the card.

In addition, the smart IC card is also the future of e-commerce. Its inherent security and convenience make it the currently recognized network security client solution. Using smart IC cards can facilitate data encryption and identity verification through PKI, ensuring secure online payment.