It is time for my yearly local conference, and this time, I am blogging live from it. I missed the first day, but here I am for the second day, and the Java Card session. This year, it is Oberthur who presents Java Card 3.0, more precisely Vincent Guerin, one of their JCF representatives. His […]
Another blog on Java Card
I would like to welcome another blog on Java Card, hoping that this is the start of a much larger community. The blog is from Brazil, which gives hope of enthusiasm, at least for all those who have seen Brazilian attendees at JavaOne. So go and check out Igor Medeiros’ blog .
Java Card security certification
The certification of smart cards is a recurrent issue. Most issuers have their own requirements, which can vary greatly, even in the same industry. In addition, regulators can also get involved and make additional requirements. Let’s start by one example, the banking industry. Most issuers don’t define specifications, nor do they perform security certifications. Instead, […]
iPhone again
The iPhone is back in the news, this time as the target of an attack. This attack seems to me like a new one on mobile phones. The Safari vulnerability that it exploits also exists in the workstation version of the program. Apple is here falling victim of their “reuse” strategy: by using the same […]
iPhone and iCard
Over a week after the launch, it is a duty as a blogger to mention the iPhone. I am not going to explain how great it looks and feels, and I am not going to talk about the latest iPhone hacks. In fact, I will react on an old Steve Jobs quote that I saw […]
Should we deprecate DESKey.getKey() ?
The DESKey.getKey(byte[], short) method definitely is one of the most controversial methods of the Java Card 2.1 API. This method is quite simple; as stated in its description, it “Returns the Key data in plain text”. This definition is of course a nightmare for smart card security people: not only does it access the value […]
The art of Java Card programming
The title may be a bit pompous, but this is one of the sessions that will be offered during the Smart University event, from September 17 to September 20 in Sophia Antipolis (France). The program of this session is very nice, prepared by Pierre Paradinas, and clearly focused on real application development. The first day […]
Java Card as Windows
There are been several mentions in articles and comments about .NET smart cards and about Multos. It seems that comparisons between these systems are often expected. The latest request is for a comparison between Java Card and .NET. I will start by the cruel part: As of today, no open smart card technology compares to […]
JavaOne slides
The slides for the JavaOne conference are up on Sun’s developer connection site. Here is a small selection of presentations that are worth reading. First, a few presentations about Java Card and smart cards: TS-5686. This is the presentation that I made with Sun about Bandol. High-level, but still informative about the upcoming spec. TS-5203. […]
Small updates
I am making a few small changes to the looks of the blog, not all very noticeable. Most of them are linked to additional WordPress plug-ins, which mostly help me. The most visible one is the addition of Snap Shots, these little windows that show up when you hover over (external) links. I found them […]