New NXP security chip breaks speed record for e-government transactions
09 September, 2008
category: Biometrics, Contactless, Corporate, Government
NXP Semiconductors says its newest security chip processes transactions twice as fast, 3.5 seconds, as the current industry standard for contactless smart card chips. The SmartMX, the P5CD081, also features Secure Fetch technology, providing enhanced protection against attack scenarios with light and lasers (so-called fault attacks).
NXP is involved in more than 85% of all e-passport schemes with 51 out of 60 countries using NXP smart chip technology including the U.S., France, Germany and Singapore.
The P5CD081 dual interface smart card controller addresses the needs of advanced e-government applications requiring enhanced security, more data and faster transmission rates. The strong computing capabilities of the new SmartMX chip doubles authentication speed, accelerating e-passport transaction times at border controls. In recent tests the P5CD081 set a new industry benchmark by running the extended access control (EAC) e-passport operation with the complete citizen dataset, including fingerprints, in only 3.5 seconds. Due to its fast performance, the chip is also specifically suited for sophisticated e-ID applications, such as secure electronic signatures for transactions via the internet.
For existing customers, the P5CD081 is compatible with previous SmartMX chips, retaining the existing IC platform while adding a faster CPU, allowing customers to leverage their existing designs on the latest SmartMX chip, without the need for bigger adaptations on their operating system.
The new SmartMX supports ICAO standards, enabling the implementation of BAC (basic access control) and EAC (extended access control), and includes an embedded crypto co-processor compliant with the European Citizen Card requirements.
