Process and apparatus for the simultaneous and remote reading and certifying of an information present in a memory of an electronic medium

• US 4,816,651 A
• Filed: 03/14/1988
• Issued: 03/28/1989
• Est. Priority Date: 03/13/1987
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: De La Rue Cartes et Systemes
• Original Assignee: US Philips Corporation (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Inventors: Ishording, Willem
• Primary Examiner(s): Pitts, Harold I.
• Application Number:
  US07/167,804
• Time in Patent Office: 379 Days
• Field of Search: 235/379, 235/380
• US Class Current: 235/379
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/341 Active cards, i.e. cards including their own processing means, e.g. including an IC or chip
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/40975 using encryption therefor
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/1008 Active credit-cards provided with means to personalise their use, e.g. with PIN-introduction/comparison system
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/1016 Devices or methods for securing the PIN and other transaction-data, e.g. by encryption arrangements for secret communication, see H04L9/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3271 using challenge-response

Abstract

Process for simultaneously reading and certifying, useing a processing device, an information present at an address in a memory of an electronic medium, in particular a removable and portable medium such as a memory card. The process uses a random number, generated in the processing device, as an encoding key for the address and the information read. Thus the information is certified if the sent address and the received address are identical. Preferably the encoding algorithm is the DES.

Claims

1. Process for simultaneously reading and certifying, using a processing device, an information present at an address in a memory of an electronic medium, in particular a removable and portable medium such as a card, characterized in that there is a successive execution of the following steps:

a. A random number generator provided in the processing device delivers a random number X,

b. A reversible algorithm E provided in the processing device encodes the random number X with the secret key SK belonging to the card to be processed, giving the value X_c,

c. The value X_c is transmitted to the card as well as the address @ from which it is required to read,

d. The same reversible algorithm E, provided in the card, decodes, using the same secret key SK, the value X_c, giving the value X,

e. The card uses the address @ to read the information INF,

f. The card encodes, using the key X, the address @ and the information INF, giving a result R,

g. The result R is transmitted to the processing device,

h. The processing device decodes the result R and then compares the address thus decoded with the said address @, in such a way that, when the addresses are equal, the information INF received and decoded by the processing device is certified.

2. Process according to claim 1, characterized in that the encoding-decoding algorithm E is the Data Encryption Standard (DES).

3. An apparatus for simultaneously reading and certifying information in a memory remote from the apparatus, comprising:

a processing apparatus comprising a random number generator, a first data memory, a first program memory, and first processing means for receiving input data, data stored in said first data memory and program instructions from said first program memory for processing the input data, stored data and random number under control of said first program memory;

a portable device for containing information to be certified by said processing apparatus, said portable device comprising a second data memory for storing data including data representing the information to be verified, a second program memory, and second processing means for receiving input data, data stored in said second data memory and program instructions from said second program memory for processing input data under control of said second program memory;

connecting means for permitting the temporary connection of said processing apparatus and said portable device to permit the exchange of data between said first and said second processing means; and

said first and said second program memories having stored programs effective for operating said first and said second processing means to certify information in said second data memory while said processing apparatus and said portable device are connected by said connecting means, according to the steps of

(i) generating a random number X with said random number generator,

(ii) encoding the random number X within said processing apparatus by a reversible algorithm E with a secret key SK corresponding to said portable device to obtain the result X_c,

(iii) transmitting the value X_c to said portable device together with the address @ of the information to be read and verified,

(iv) decoding the value X_c within said portable device by said reversible algorithm E using the secret key SK to obtain the value X,

(v) reading the information INF within said portable device using the address @ transmitted from said processing apparatus,

(vi) encoding the address @ and the information INF within said portable device by the algorithm E with the random number X as the key to obtain the result R,

(vii) transmitting the result R to said processing apparatus, and

(viii) decoding the result R within said processing apparatus by the algorithm E using the random number X as a key, comparing the results with the original address @]and certifying the information INF when the decoded address is identical to the original address @.

4. An apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said reversible algorithm E is the Data Encryption Standard.