Near Field Communications World » ID

HID Global and Inside Contactless to add employee ID cards to NFC phones

Sarah Clark — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 10:28:58 +0000

Employee ID card leader HID Global and Inside Contactless have partnered to offer support for HID's iClass vicinity card technology to NFC phones.

iClass is HID's top of the range ID card technology and includes both physical and logical access control functionality. iClass cards already use chips supplied by Inside Contactless but, although iClass uses the 13.56MHz frequency, it is not compatible with the current generation of NFC controller chips since iClass uses the ISO 15693 vicinity card standard rather than the ISO 14443 standard used by most contactless payments and transit cards.

Under the terms of the new deal, Inside will update its microread NFC controller to implement the iClass command set and protocol so that NFC phones equipped with Inside's controller will be able to communicate with HID iClass readers and, says the company, "iClass support will be a feature of all the company's future NFC products." HID will then offer its customers an NFC-enabled version of iClass, with the company taking on the role of Trusted Service Manager (TSM) via its Trusted Identity Platform.

"Embedding iClass virtual credentials into NFC mobile phones will enable potential substitution of numerous plastic cards for a variety of commercial and consumer identity applications, including not only physical access control, but also secure PC log on, time and attendance monitoring, equipment and material checkout, authorized access to office equipment and manufacturing machinery, private label retail payments, prepaid transit passes, and customer loyalty and membership programs," say the two companies.

Rival NFC controller supplier NXP is also working on adding support for ISO 15693 to its products. Earlier this month, NXP completed testing of a new multi-protocol version of its NFC controller, known as the PN 544 C2, in conjunction with disposable wireless sensors specialist Gentag.

This article was first published at www.NearFieldCommunicationsWorld.com.

Related news:

Gemalto provides KDDI with end-to-end NFC security solution

Sarah Clark — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 12:38:27 +0000

Gemalto has provided further details of the role it is playing in Japanese mobile network operator KDDI's extensive NFC field test, which went live last month.

As we reported in April, KDDI has partnered with an extensive range of service providers for its trial, including Toyota, All Nippon Airways (ANA), Japan Airlines (JAL), Toho Cinemas and card issuers Orient Corporation, Credit Saison and Aiwai Card Services.

Gemalto is providing KDDI with NFC SIMs and its Trusted Service Management (TSM) solution for the trial and has been entrusted with the preparation and management of sensitive user information sent between KDDI and other service providers, as well as the provision of multiple mobile applications to subscribers.

“We selected Gemalto based on their global expertise, sound experience and achievements in the field of NFC," explains KDDI's Kenichi Bandou.

Currently, says Gemalto, 18% of mobile subscribers in Japan are actively using the country's existing non-NFC standard mobile contactless services. "Japan is a leading market in contactless services with a well-established infrastructure," explains Tan Teck-Lee, president of Gemalto Asia. "We look forward to providing our proven expertise and globally acquired experience to further enrich this dynamic ecosystem, to bring a new dimension in contactless usage to Japanese mobile users.”

The trial is set to continue until December 2010.

This article was first published at www.NearFieldCommunicationsWorld.com.

Related news:

T-Mobile begins internal NFC payments and access control trial in Czech Republic

Sarah Clark — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 14:55:26 +0000

Mobile network operator T-Mobile Czech Republic has begun testing NFC at its offices in the Czech Republic. Participants can use their Samsung Star NFC phones to gain entry to the building and to individual offices, to access networked printers and to make payments in the staff canteen.

The main focus of the test will be on the user interface, says the operator. Knowledge gained during the trial will then be used to form "the basis for the deployment of NFC in other projects with external partners."

T-Mobile has worked with Gemalto on the development of the NFC SIMs being used in the trial and with Xerox, which provides the printing systems and services at the offices, with Alimex which supplies its access control system and with Compass Group's Eurest division, which operates the company's canteen services.

This article was first published at www.NearFieldCommunicationsWorld.com.

Related news:

G&D and ARM to develop mobile device security solutions

Sarah Clark — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 14:40:42 +0000

ARM and Giesecke & Devrient (G&D) have announced a strategic partnership aimed at the development of highly secure mobile phone platforms. The partnership will combine ARM's TrustZone technology, which creates a protected area in advanced systems-on-chip, and G&D's secure MobiCore operating system to develop secure solutions for sensitive applications such as electronic payment and online banking via mobile phone. As a first step, the two companies will develop a joint prototype.

"We will be working with ARM to develop the security architecture for the next generation of mobile phones," says Dr Kai Grassie, head of the new business division at G&D. "This will enable people to access highly valuable services with convenience and security."

"ARM TrustZone technology is already an integral part of the ARM Cortex-A series processors which are currently being deployed in smartphones by many of the industry's leading handset manufacturers," explained Ian Drew, executive vice president of marketing at ARM. "This collaboration with G&D will enable us to make rapid progress towards enabling secure transactions in next-generation mobile devices."

Acceptance of mobile applications such as banking, ticketing and payment solutions rests on the security of device and background systems involved, say the two companies. For this reason, both have been working on innovative security concepts.

"The interplay of TrustZone and MobiCore ensures that if online services require security-sensitive functions such as entry of user name and password or data output on a display, these functions are transferred to the MobiCore high-security operating system running in the TrustZone protected area of an ARM application processor," the two companies explain. "As the security-sensitive functions are executed, MobiCore maintains control of the secure area of a system-on-chip. Users can therefore be certain that the data they have entered, such as their username and password, cannot be manipulated by malware on the phone during a payment transaction."

ARM is also creating a range of training and architectural service packages based around a TrustZone/MobiCore reference system which will help reduce time-to-market for secure embedded system development. ARM will release its first secure system training course based around hardware system integration and the TrustZone API next month. This will be followed by an ARM Active Assist on-site design review service package, a secure systems development training package based on MobiCore, the release of the TrustZone Address Space Controller to secure multiple regions of off-chip memory and the TrustZone reference system later in the year.

ARM and G&D will be presenting their joint concepts at the Mobile World Congress from 15 to 18 February in Barcelona.

This article was first published at www.NearFieldCommunicationsWorld.com.

Related news:

Gemalto acquires mobile authentication leader Valimo Wireless

Sarah Clark — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 14:29:18 +0000

Gemalto has acquired Valimo Wireless, the world leader in mobile authentication.

Valimo pioneered the use of two-channel, two-factor authentication based on Public Key Infrastructure (PKI). Its Mobile ID solution combines an over the air platform with a software client in the SIM to generate a legally binding electronic signature that can be used by mobile phone users to securely authenticate themselves, digitally sign documents and confirm legally binding transactions simply by entering a self-chosen passphrase or a PIN code.

Valimo Mobile ID applications include secure online banking, mobile payments, government services, electronic and mobile commerce, and identity and access rights management for enterprise applications.

In Turkey, for example, the technology is being used by a major mobile operator to deploy the largest mobile digital signature commercial roll-out to date. By linking up with 13 banks, the operator enables its customers to strongly authenticate themselves for online banking and to digitally sign bank transactions from their mobile phone. Connecting the Valimo platform to forward-looking governmental agencies in the country, the operator has also started to provide users with access to e-government services, such as obtaining a birth certificate or booking an appointment at the hospital.

"Mobile digital signature has been on the horizon for a few years and we believe that we have now reached a tipping point," says Olivier Piou, chief executive officer of Gemalto. "Whether it is a high end smart phone or a more basic phone, the one digital object consumers always have with them is their mobile phone, and they clearly express their desire to use it more and more for convenience in their daily life. Enabling people to conveniently sign legally valid transactions is opening up a whole range of new applications for the mobile, at the service of citizens".

This article was first published at www.NearFieldCommunicationsWorld.com.

Related news:

Sagem Wireless to add fingerprint verification to new range of mobile phones

Sarah Clark — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 14:11:51 +0000

Sagem Wireless has formed a partnership with Upek to bring fingerprint identity capabilities to a range of new devices that it plans to launch later this year, including new Android-based mobile devices.

"Mobile operators, device manufacturers and application developers need identity management tools that are both convenient and secure to support the growth of mobile services such as application marketplaces, m-banking, m-commerce, mobile enterprise applications, and mobile productivity tools," says Sagem Wireless.

"By offering an open, standards-based platform for mobile identity services, the strategic partnership between Sagem Wireless and Upek enables an ecosystem of operators, manufacturers and application developers to seamlessly utilise fingerprint identity capabilities to personalise mobile services and make mobile applications more secure, faster and easier to use," the company explains.

Adding fingerprint identity solutions to mobile phones offers a range of benefits, says Sagem Wireless, such as:

Simplified user experience without any need to remember and re-type personal information such as usernames, passwords and account numbers. Users just employ a fast and simple touch gesture to identify themselves.
Quicker and easier purchases from mobile application marketplaces and on-line stores along with better protection against identity theft and piracy.
Faster and more secure mobile payments, mobile banking and other new mobile applications

"The emergence of new connected lifestyle devices is changing the way users interact with and consume mobile services," explains Jerome Nadel, executive vice president of marketing and user experience at Sagem Wireless. "Both security and usability are critical to reducing perceptions of risk, improving convenience, and encouraging usage. Biometric solutions such as fingerprint sensors simplify the process of user identification, providing faster and more secure access to personalised services and transactions. Sagem Wireless will continue to integrate fingerprint biometrics in a range of our connected devices. We're delighted to be working with Upek to incorporate their technology into some of our most exciting and game changing devices to come."

"By developing the service and the device hand-in-hand, Sagem Wireless and Upek are helping to spur innovative applications that take advantage of the full potential of fingerprint ID capabilities," adds Carl Temme, vice president of business development and strategic marketing at Upek.

The two companies will be demonstrating fingerprint identity capabilities for Android mobile applications on Sagem Wireless' booth at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona from 15 to 18 February.

This article was first published at www.NearFieldCommunicationsWorld.com.

Related news:

Banks and mobile operators to go head to head for NFC mobile payments business

Mike Clark — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 16:08:22 +0000

Banks and mobile network operators are set to go head to head in a bid to control the market for NFC mobile payments services, according to a new research report published today.

"NFC mobile phones will be used to replace everything from credit cards and loyalty cards to bus and train tickets, library cards, door keys and even cash," says Sarah Clark, editor of NFCW and author of the new report. "What hasn't yet been decided, however, is who will win the battle to provide consumers with their new hi-tech mobile wallets."

So far, banks and operators have worked together to run field trials of NFC technology but, the report predicts, the emergence of new ways to add near field communication technology to existing mobile phones means they will soon find themselves in competition for control of this important new market.

"New products are now available that enable NFC functionality to be retrofitted to current mobile phones. These will enable banks to deliver NFC services to their customers without the involvement of mobile network operators and this has fundamentally changed the balance of power between banks and operators," Clark explains.

While a collaborative approach between banks and operators may work in some instances, 'NFC: The Road to Commercial Deployment' predicts that most commercial deployments will have only one lead player. And that lead player will not necessarily be a mobile network operator.

"Decisions made in 2010 will be critical in determining which mobile network operators, which banks, which industry suppliers and which service providers become the leaders in the field," says Clark. "Ultimately, only two or three companies in each country will succeed in building a major new business providing NFC services to businesses and consumers. The winners could be banks or mobile operators, or even a new entrant to the market."

"We now expect a competitive market to develop between mobile operators and banks in each market," Clark adds. "Here, overall leadership will not be determined by what business the company is currently in. Instead, it will be based on their overall business strength, on how well they execute their NFC strategy and on the alliances that they put into place."

Strong banks, for instance, will be able to make deals with weaker mobile network operators. And strong mobile network operators will make deals with weaker banks so that, ultimately, who ends up as a lead player in each market will depend not on whether they are a bank or an operator but on key factors such as:

The strength of the company’s existing presence in its core market.
How loyal its customers are.
The level of risk it is willing to take in terms of investing in the deployment of NFC services.
How successful it is in developing an attractive business proposition for potential key service providers and how quickly it manages to sign them up.

Although another year of field testing will need to take place before the widespread introduction of commercial NFC services can begin from early 2011, the trials this year will be different to those that have gone before. "This year's trials will not be simple technical tests," says Clark. "Instead they will be pre-commercial trials, designed to enable NFC service providers to finalize their business plans."

The UK, France, United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Taiwan and Korea will be the first countries to introduce NFC commercially, the report predicts, beginning in 2011. The US, Canada, Spain, Germany, Italy, Norway, the Czech Republic, Romania and Australia are also expected to be early adopters of NFC.

'NFC: The Road to Commercial Deployment' examines the international market for near field communication technology from 2010 to 2014. It is published by SJB Research, a UK company specialising in analysing the market for emerging technologies in the mobile and payments fields.

The report provides detailed guidance for banks and mobile operators looking to introduce NFC successfully and for companies wishing to offer NFC-based services to their customers. It includes an analysis of the technical and business challenges that still need to be resolved and explains how mobile operators, banks, handset manufacturers, industry suppliers and key potential NFC service providers will resolve those issues during 2010.

'NFC: The Road to Commercial Deployment' explains the key factors that will decide which companies will become the mobile wallet market leaders and details what the first NFC services will need to offer in order to succeed.

The research report is available to purchase today. Further information and online ordering facilities are available at http://www.thenfcreport.com/road.

This article was first published at www.NearFieldCommunicationsWorld.com.

Related news:

Bundesdruckerei plans to link NFC and electronic identity cards

Sarah Clark — Mon, 11 May 2009 13:37:33 +0000

The German security documents group is to work with the NFC Forum to harmonise eID and NFC standards so that mobile phones can enable electronic ID cards to be used as proof of identity for secure transactions on the internet.

ONLINE ID: Bundesdruckerei wants to use NFC phones as a bridge to proving identity on the web

Bundesdruckerei, the German security printer, has picked NFC as its technology of choice for enabling the use of electronic ID cards, such as the contactless smart card-based German national ID cards due to be introduced next year, as proof of identity documents on the web.

For an eID card to be used as a proof of identity on the internet, consumers need a device capable of reading and transmitting data from their electronic ID card and Bundesdruckerei thinks NFC phones are the way to achieve that:

Modern electronic ID cards, such as those scheduled for introduction in Germany in November 2010, can also be used as a proof of identity on the internet, thus making online transactions even more secure.
In addition to an internet connection users require a device capable of reading and transmitting the required data from an electronic ID card. Corresponding non-contact readers are to be available at low cost in the near future. However, an easy alternative would be to use one's own mobile phone as a reading device.
In order for this to work a mobile phone must be NFC-compatible. A mobile phone needs to be equipped with the appropriate technical standard to be able to read data from an electronic ID card, which would then make it possible to conduct secure online transactions with proof of identity (so-called 'eID applications') from any location.

"We believe that use of an NFC-compatible mobile phone as a reading device would be an uncomplicated way of bridging the current gap between electronic IDs and secure internet transactions", says Ulrich Hamann, CEO of Bundesdruckerei. Since mobile phones exist in nearly every household and are already widely accepted by users, Hamann added, buying a special reading device would then be unnecessary. "People will only use their electronic ID cards on the web if this is easy, safe and convenient."

Bundesdruckerei has now joined the NFC Forum as an associate member with the aim of working towards harmonising the existing NFC Forum standards and eID standards, based on ISO 14443. "Bundesdruckerei's aim is for every NFC-compatible mobile phone to be capable of reading digital documents, so that citizens can use their electronic ID for a variety of secure eID applications in an easy and uncomplicated way," the company says.

This article was first published at www.NearFieldCommunicationsWorld.com.

Related news:

Reslink signs up new distributors in the UK and Southeast Asia

Sarah Clark — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 22:41:21 +0000

Two more companies have signed up to become resellers of the Finnish workforce management solutions specialist's NFC-based time and attendance and location-sensitive data capture solutions.

GROWING LIST: Reslink has appointed resellers in the UK and Hong Kong

Two more companies have been added to the growing list of resellers of Reslink Solutions' NFC-based workforce management solutions: Business Acuity in the UK and Datricity in Hong Kong.

Reslink uses NFC phones and RFID tags to enable businesses to identify exactly where their employees went, at what time, and what they did whilst they were there. Application areas targeted include time & attendance, field service management, asset management, security guarding, contract cleaning and domiciliary homecare.

Customers include Rentokil Initial's washroom services division in Sweden, which is using the Reslink system to keep tight control of its field services agents' activities and to gather additional business information in the field, and Palmia, the city of Helsinki's facilities management company.

Business Acuity, based in the south of England, specializes in mobile solutions and website design for clients in the contract cleaning, homecare, security and general time & attendance sectors. In Hong Kong, Datricity provides internet and mobile workforce management solutions, particularly for the security sector.

The two new resellers join the four UK firms who have already signed up with Reslink this year. They are:

CM2000, a leading UK provider of solutions and services for care monitoring, call monitoring, homecare monitoring and lone worker safety with more than 130 customers across the UK.
Expolink, a workforce management and mobile data collection solutions provider to major facilities management and contract cleaning companies in both the public and private sector. Expolink clients include over a third of all hospitals and many small, medium and large corporate businesses throughout the UK.
Mobile Communications 2000, a specialist in mobile telecommunications solutions for proof-of-attendance and location-sensitive data capture using mobile phones.
Mobile-e-Solutions, a mobile proof-of-attendance and data collection specialist working with care homes and security companies.

The RFID Discovery Lab at Newham College in London has also installed a Reslink system and is providing consultancy, training and demonstrations on new RFID-related technologies, including Reslink.

This article was first published at www.NearFieldCommunicationsWorld.com.

Related news:

Dutch think tank reports on the impact of NFC and consumer data privacy issues

Sarah Clark — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 23:44:14 +0000

When it comes to designing NFC ecosystems, solutions that appear to be logical and beneficial for the actors involved may not prove to be in the customers' best interests, says a new report by Dutch technology think tank Rathenau Institute

An in-depth study into what the introduction of NFC means from a consumer identity and government regulation point of view has been published by the Rathenau Institute, a Dutch think tank that focuses on the influence of science and technology on our daily lives.

An influential think tank has warned that what suits the operators of NFC systems may not be in the best interests of users

The study starts with the premise that "NFC allows for the merging of data relating to payments, locations and communications, and there is clearly potential for developing new services," but "it is necessary to ask, however, who will be managing users' personal data, and to whom will users be able to turn if things go wrong?"

The report examines how NFC works, describes each of the 'actors' involved in the NFC ecosystem and looks in-depth at two innovative NFC projects based in the Netherlands and run by Payter and Rabo-Mobiel. The authors, Wouter Schilpzand of the Technical University Eindhoven and Christian van ‘t Hof of Rathenau Institute, then draw together the findings of their research for a final chapter entitled 'Conclusion: Managing identity in NFC environments':

With so many technologies and applications coming together in hand-held devices, many different suppliers are currently collaborating to agree on common standards.
Who will manage which data on users remains a contentious issue, however. Each of the various actors involved – telecoms operators, chip manufacturers, mobile phone suppliers, and banks – brings its own interests, technical standards and organizational culture to the negotiating table. It seems unlikely that a consensus will be reached in the near future.
Meanwhile, users and government have so far played a marginal role in the process. By further elaborating the concept of identity management, this chapter suggests that now is the time for governments and users to become involved. We thus ask, which roles can companies, users, and governments play in managing identities in an increasingly digitalized public arena?

The authors then go on to describe four key issues:

First, there is the issue of the Secure Element (SE), whereby important data (for example, on identification and encryption keys) can be shielded from the outside world. Will this element be built into phones, into SIMs, or into an additional card (an SD or smart card)? Each of these three options serves the interests of one or another of the actors involved.
Second, in order to integrate all of the applications, networks and data flows, a new intermediary needs to be established: the Trusted Service Manager (TSM). Will the TSM merely be an intermediary, supporting the smooth flow of data from one to another? Or will the TSM also play an important role in promoting smooth collaboration and competition among suppliers, and help customers switch from one supplier to another? And if the TSM does become a point of ultimate technological and organizational convergence, and plays a dominant role, then which actor will be responsible for ensuring that it is doing its job well?
Third, once more people start using NFC, it is likely that there will be increasing attempts to hack into people’s phones, eavesdrop, and commit identity theft and other cybercrimes. Although suppliers claim that NFC is safe, computer security experts view NFC as a ‘mixed bag’: while there are more entries to be broken into, greater computer power is also needed to seal it off. In theory, any device can be broken into as long as enough effort is made. Only practice will prove whether it to be a criminal business case.
Finally, the process of setting up a TSM demands an overall architecture for data exchange. Currently, there are many different flows of user data, and every application has its own identification mechanism and a separate organization handling the data. For instance, a customer’s phone calls are not automatically linked to a customer’s purchases. In future, will NFC evolve into an application which requires users to sign-on just once, thus linking everything to one single identity (one number and one database containing all personal data), or will a more versatile form of identity management prevail?

"Resolving the issues surrounding the SE and the role of the TSM appears to be crucial," say the authors. "If the SE is placed in the handset, this could shift the balance of power in favour of handset manufacturers – if, of course, the latter perceive there to be sufficient commercial benefit in adopting the technology. Mobile network operators, on the other hand, perceive significant advantages to be gained from putting the SE on SIMs, thus allowing them to govern the technology."

"If this were to happen," they warn, "then the network operators might gain so much dominance in the market by locking-in customers and overcharging for services, that other actors might see few benefits in the technology."

From a consumer point of view "solutions that appear to be logical and beneficiary for the actors involved may not prove to be in the customers’ best interests," says the study:

Placing the SE on the SIM card may prove to be advantageous for mobile network operators, but users might experience the result as a lock-in that limits their choice of service provider. All in all, a non-proprietary solution to the SE placement issue would offer consumers more freedom of choice, but would also raise the issue of who would then oversee this freedom. In addition, the existence of too much choice may lead to confusion.
Making it the user’s responsibility to decide where the SE is placed could result in a Kafkaesque nightmare in which consumers went from one provider to another with a handful of chips. This is where the TSM could play a pertinent role: the TSM would manage the SE, regardless of where it had been placed on the device, allowing customers to avoid having to care or even know about the issue.
Moreover, the TSM could emerge as a single service contact point for users. In addition to integrating data flows for all of the companies involved and resolving the SE issue, it could provide a help desk for users seeking assistance with malfunctioning devices or changing their provider, bank or device, and also monitor who does what with users’ personal data. All of these functions would indeed amount to a highly integrated identity manager. On the other hand, however, if all of these responsibilities were to be awarded to a single party, to what extent would users be able to trust the TSM?

The research forms part of the Rathenau Institute’s project on the Digitalization Of Public Places, which analyses the societal impact of upcoming digital technologies in the public domain. A full copy of the 50-page study 'Near Field Communication: Convenience takes a great step forward, but what about the footprints we leave?' can be downloaded free of charge from the Rathenau Institute's website.

This article was first published at www.NearFieldCommunicationsWorld.com.

Related news: