INSIDE Contactless, a provider semiconductor solutions for mobile devices, secure transactions and digital identity, today introduced SecuRead, a system-in-package (SIP) near field communication (NFC) solution that helps manufacturers of NFC mobile and other devices to integrate all of the contactless, security and application functions required for a broad range of NFC payment, retail, transit, ID and access control applications. NFC, is a short-range high frequency wireless communication technology that enables data to be exchanged between devices over a very short (a few centimeters) distance.
SecuRead is a turn-key solution that helps mobile device makers enable a broad range of NFC applications in their products. SecurRead integrates INSIDE’s MicroRead NFC controller with a security controller from Infineon Technologies and a GlobalPlatform-compliant Java Card operating system from Giesecke & Devrient.
According to Loic Hamon, vice president of products and marketing for NFC at INSIDE Contactless, the company’s SecuRead already has been selected by a leading mobile device manufacturer for use in NFC mobile device products due out in 2011.
“Trusted applications like banking and payment demand the highest level of proven security in their hardware and their operating systems, and this is what our secure element brings to the SecuRead SIP solution,” said Juergen Spaenkuch, director, platform security at Infineon Technologies. “Infineon’s secure element chip dedicated to NFC applications has been certified to the highest proven security certifications and type approvals such as Common Criteria EAL5+ (high) and EMVCo. The chip also offers an optimized interface to the MicroRead NFC controller, thereby enabling INSIDE to create a superior product to meet current and future requirements of the mobile industry.”
SecuRead offers all the functionality of INSIDE’s third-generation MicroRead v3 silicon—plus the secure element and Java Card OS—in a VQFN-32 package, and is pin-for-pin compatible with the standalone MicroRead product. The on-chip Java Card operating system, based on G&D’s Convego Join 4, includes the implementation of the GlobalPlatform 2.1.1 specifications, supports the full Java Card 3.0.1 API and is compliant with relevant ISO standards as well as EMV for domestic and international mobile payment. The Java Card Operating system supports core AES cryptography for OSPT standards in the transit fare collection market, and a MIFARE-compliant emulation is provided for compatibility for some transit applications.
SecuRead also supports HID iCLASS virtual credentials and is HID Trusted Identity Platform (TIP)-enabled for access control and emerging mobile applications. The secure element features a powerful secure microcontroller with multitasking capability that stores both code and data in a 144KB non-volatile memory, and is Common Criteria EAL5+ (high) certified and EMVCo approved.
INSIDE’s SecuRead solution is pre-integrated with INSIDE’s Open NFC, a commercial-grade NFC protocol stack that runs on the application or baseband processor to control SecuRead operation. Open NFC version 3.5 software and source code is available at no cost in Android, Windows Mobile, Linux and Java (JSR-257) editions with API documentation on SourceForge.net. INSIDE also offers a comprehensive suite of NFC payment, transit, loyalty, and access control and identity applets to run on SecuRead, including support for HID iCLASS virtual credentials.
Engineering samples of the INSIDE Contactless SecuRead system-in-package secure NFC solution will be available in December, with production quantities available in April 2011. More information is available at www.insidecontactless.com