Smart Card Reader Trust Verification Mechanism
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Most public smart card systems are unconditionally trusting of smart card readers, which can lead to the risk of sensitive personal information being compromised when provided to untrustworthy or unreliable readers, and moving authentication hardware to the card increases the card's size and cost.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a method where the smart card system tests the trustworthiness of the smart card reader by requesting and verifying trust data, including certificates and measurement values signed by the reader, to ensure the reader's reliability before authenticating the user.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If user authentication hardware is placed directly on the smart card to protect personal information, then security is improved, but the card's size and manufacturing cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a trust evaluation mechanism as an intermediary between the user authentication process and the smart card reader. The system evaluates the trustworthiness of the reader through multiple verification steps (device identification, capability verification, security policy checking) before authentication occurs, allowing security to be improved without adding hardware to the card itself.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs trust evaluation actions before the actual user authentication takes place. By pre-verifying the reader's trustworthiness, device capabilities, and security policies, the system ensures security is established in advance, eliminating the need for additional authentication hardware on the card while maintaining high security standards.
2Ease of operation
If smart card systems unconditionally trust smart card readers for simplicity, then ease of operation is improved, but the risk of information compromise increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a feedback mechanism where the system continuously evaluates and verifies the trustworthiness of the smart card reader through multiple checks (device identification, capability verification, security policy validation). This feedback loop maintains system simplicity while dynamically assessing security risks, allowing the system to operate securely without complex user interventions.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for managing a smart card system includes testing a smart card reader for trustworthiness. An indication of the trustworthiness is provided via a smart card.