SMART CARD-EXPLAINED

In simple words smart card is a credit card with a microprocessor.

*This is the microprocessor that is embedded in smart card. Vcc is power supply,Rst is used to reset the card communication,clk is used to provide card with a clock signal,Vpp is programming voltage,Gnd is to provide ground,I/O is serial interface as smart card uses it and C4,C8 are AUX1,AUX2 respectively and are used for USB interfaces.

*Before knowing more about smart cards let us have a look on credit cards as these smart cards are evolved to overcome the disadvantages in credit cards.

*Credit cards store information on magnetic strip line, which is easily breakable. Magnetic strip technology remains in wide use in US, however the data on stripe can easily be read, write or even can modified as stripe is not the best place to store information, we need an alternative and confidential place to store it.
*To protect the customer business in US, smart cards are introduced which will overcome the above said disadvantage.
*Smart card usually contain an embedded microprocessor, which is under gold plated contact pads and performs mathematical encryption calculations used in security function and also store additional card holder account data.
*In Europe, health insurance and banking industries use smart card extensively.
*A smart card has 8kb of RAM,346kb of ROM,256 kb of PROM and a 16 bit microprocessor

*Smart card uses a serial interface and receive power from external sources like card reader.

How it works?

*When a smart card is inserted in smartcard holder, transaction is similar to that of an ATM, but in here power goes from smart card reader(machine) to chip and switches it ON, once it is ON, it is able to conduct, an electron conversation  with chip reader. When the reader is online, the chip uses the reader to communicate to card issuer,during this time security procedure is activated that authenticates the card. A fake card would not be able to duplicate the security procedures and would be detected invalid.

*Magnetic strip information on credit card can be copied and put on fake card,  which looks exactly as valid card. The technology required to copy data  from smart card to a fake card is beyond capability of criminals, and the information sent online to authenticate the card is different for every transaction ,also to attempt to physically remove the chip from smart card would cause the chip to blow and chip cannot be used again.

*Smart card is of two types

1.       Contact smart card:

Contact area of smart card is approx. 1 sqcm,comprising of several gold plated contact pads, these pads provide electrical connectivity when inserted into reader, which is used as communication between smartcard and host(PC),these do not have batteries, power is supplied by card reader

2.       Contactless smart card

In this type of smartcard, card communication with Is powered by reader through RF induction.

Problems in using smart card:

1.The plastic card in which chip is embedded is fully flexible, so hard to maintain it.

2.As I said before, smart card is inserted into smart card holder, if the holder contains malware then it tries to know the information which makes the card  to turn invalid.