Wifi Revolution

NXP Semiconductors (News - Alert), the independent company founded by Philips, has introduced MIFARE Plus, a contactless smart card IC.

 

MIFARE Plus is expected to offer security and performance for the cost-sensitive automated fare collection (AFC) and access control markets. Featuring multiple levels of security, including Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) encryption, and a migration path from existing MIFARE Classic implementations, MIFARE Plus is the latest addition to NXP’s MIFARE portfolio.

 

Explaining the benefits, company officials said that the backwards compatibility of MIFARE Plus allows for a seamless introduction of cards in existing MIFARE Classic implementations.

 

Additionally, after upgrading the system infrastructure, service operators can switch MIFARE Plus-powered cards in the field to a “higher security level without the need to revoke or re-issue the cards,” according to officials.

 

Officials pointed out that security is at the heart of MIFARE Plus, which offers AES encryption for authentication, integrity and confidentiality, based on a 128-bit key length.

 

Also, MIFARE Plus chips comprise a number of additional security features which, when used in the infrastructure, provide for a system that prevents individuals from being identified and tracked by others.

 

These features are enabled through the support of Random Identifiers (RIDs) next to 7 Byte Unique Identifiers (UIDs). According to officials, MIFARE Plus also offers an originality function, which improves verification of cards and enables active measures against emulators.

 

Henri Ardevol, general manager of automatic fare collection at NXP Semiconductors, said for both transport operators and passengers, MIFARE Plus offers “unprecedented levels of security, privacy, compatibility and performance for entry-level smart cards, and is ideal for ticketing systems.”

 

He also explained that the IC has been designed from the ground up to address the security and privacy needs of the 21st century and thus complements well the current MIFARE portfolio, and with MIFARE Plus, consumers can be assured that their individual information cannot be tracked by others.

 

“For system integrators, MIFARE Plus offers outstanding flexibility, supporting multiple levels of security for an easy upgrade path from existing MIFARE Classic installations,” he added in a statement.  

 

MIFARE Plus is expected to be available for pilots in Q4 2008. At present, NXP Semiconductors is planning to seek formal Common Criteria EAL 4+ Certification by the German Federal Office of Information Security (Bundesamt fur Sicherheit in der Informationstechnik) for MIFARE Plus.

 

 

 

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