Application level smart card support through networked mobile devices

Abstract

This paper addresses the problem of using networked mobile devices as providers of cryptographic functions. More specifically the paper describes a system developed to allow the usage of portable devices, such as PDAs and mobile phones, as remote smart card readers when connected into a TCP/IP network. This system is completely transparent to desktop applications. The digital signature technology, at its highest level of security, requires the use of smart cards and smart card readers not yet widely deployed. This requirement limits the mobility and may turn out to be an obstacle to the wide adoption of the digital signature technology. Our work aims precisely at facilitating the adoption of the smart card technology by means of PDAs and mobile phones. © IFIP International Federation for Information Processing 2003.