TMCnet News
Infineon to supply security chips for first electronic passportsAug 12, 2013 (MarketLine via COMTEX) -- Infineon Technologies AG, a Germany-based semiconductor manufacturer, has announced that it is supplying security chips for the first electronic passports incorporating the supplemental access control, or SAC, protocol, which enhances protection against unauthorized access and possible abuse of personal data. The passports, issued by the Republic of Kosovo, contain Infineon security chips of the SLE 78 product family with 'Integrity Guard,' which offers the highest level of data security over the long term and are ideally suited for sovereign documents with a long period of validity. "Our security chips create the technological pre-requisite for more data security and provide trust in electronic passports and eIDs on the part of public authorities and citizens," said Carsten Loschinsky, Head of Business Line Government ID for the Chip Card & Security Division of Infineon Technologies. To fulfill continually increasing security requirements for contactless access to data stored on the passport, the ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization) now recommends use of the SAC protocol. In contrast to the earlier generation BAC (Basic Access Control) protocol, SAC is based on asymmetric encryption. Within the EU, SAC will be mandatory for electronic passports issued from December 2014. As the first European country to comply with the new requirement, the Republic of Kosovo will issue 800,000 electronic passports, the company said. http://www.datamonitor.com Republication or redistribution, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without prior written consent. Datamonitor shall not be liable for errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon |