On Sat, Mar 04, 2000 at 09:40:03AM +0100, Josep Maria Carn� Barnaus wrote:
> Hi all,
> I am looking for information about the process of generating keys - the
> private and the public key - in a smartcard. Someone told me that some types
> of smartcards needed a Security Access Module. Can anyone confirm this?.
> Is absolutely necesary use this module to create the pair of keys?. In some
> smartcards I think that it�s possible to create without this module.
> Particulary I am interested in Schumlberger, Bull, GyD, Gemplus
The SAM I have heard of is a tamper-resistant (i.e. FIPS 140 or ITSEC)
box which goes into ATMs. I'm not sure what a SAM for a smartcard means...
maybe a box which is a reader and which generates the key to put it
on the card?
A number of higher-end smartcards have key generation facilities.
One problem is that key generation for RSA requires a good source
of random numbers, and I have heard from some researchers that smartcard
RNGs are often poor. Hardware RNGs are wierd and often require a lot
of power (i.e. for free-running ring oscilators) making them difficult to
include on a space and power limited smartcard.
I beleive that Gemplus GPK series cards can generate RSA keys.
--
Eric Murray www.lne.com/~ericm ericm at the site lne.com PGP keyid:E03F65E5
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Linux Smart Card Developers - M.U.S.C.L.E.
(Movement for the Use of Smart Cards in a Linux Environment)
http://www.linuxnet.com/smartcard/index.html
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