Method for personalizing chip cards

• US 8,020,773 B2
• Filed: 11/11/2005
• Issued: 09/20/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 12/01/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Bull Sas (Atos SE)
• Original Assignee: Siemens It Solutions and Services GmbH (Atos SE)
• Inventors: Lehmeyer, Arne, Gebhardt, Wolfgang, Wörz, Rainer, Treutwein, Guido
• Primary Examiner(s): Kim; Ahshik
• Application Number:
  US11/791,637
• Publication Number:
  US 20080116261A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,139 Days
• Field of Search: 235/380, 235/492
• US Class Current: 235/492
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3552 Downloading or loading of personalisation data
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3558 Preliminary personalisation for transfer to user
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/1008 Active credit-cards provided with means to personalise their use, e.g. with PIN-introduction/comparison system

Abstract

Key information is stored in a memory of a chip card for the purposes of partial personalization. For a complete personalization, an instruction sequence definition and an instruction sequence designed for a chip card application and including instructions to be carried out by the chip card are transmitted to the chip card. A check which is secured by the key information is carried out for each chip card instruction to determine whether the chip card instruction satisfies the instruction sequence definition, and if it does, the chip card instruction is carried out by the chip card.

Claims

1. A method for personalizing a chip card, comprising:

storing key information in a memory of the chip card as part of partial personalization; and

providing supplemental personalization by;

transferring an instruction sequence definition to the chip card,

transferring to the chip card an instruction sequence for creating a chip card application, the instruction sequence containing chip card instructions to be executed by the chip card,

checking at least one of the chip card instructions using the key information to ascertain in a secure fashion whether the at least one of the chip card instructions satisfies the instruction sequence definition, and

executing the at least one of the chip card instructions by the chip card if said checking is satisfied, and

wherein the instruction sequence definition predefines states and state transitions of a state machine which changes from a particular state to a predefined subsequent state different from previously assumed states, the particular state having assigned thereto a predefined chip card instruction permitted for execution in the particular state.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

storing an access authorization on the chip card when execution of the instruction sequence is permitted;

checking for the access authorization prior to execution of a particular one of the chip card instructions; and

executing the particular one of the chip card instructions only if the access authorization is present.

3. The method as claimed in claim 2, wherein the key information is unique for the chip card or a chip card group including the chip card.

4. The method as claimed in claim 3, wherein the supplemental personalization further comprises transferring to the chip card a supplemental personalization routine performing the supplemental personalization.

5. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the instruction sequence definition, the instruction sequence, the supplemental personalization, a chip card application partially created by processing the instruction sequence up to a particular chip card instruction, an access authorization, the state machine and/or a particular state assumed by the state machine are stored in a preferably nonvolatile memory of the chip card.

6. The method as claimed in claim 5, after complete processing of the instruction sequence, executing operations, comprising:

storing information indicating completed supplemental personalization on the chip card;

and at least one of;

deleting the access authorization from the chip card; and

deleting from the chip card at least one of the instruction sequence definition, the instruction sequence, the supplemental personalization, the state machine and a state of the state machine.

7. The method as claimed in claim 6, wherein a sequencing chip card instruction included in the instruction sequence contains another instruction sequence definition for a another instruction sequence.

8. The method as claimed in claim 7, further comprising:

invoking, after execution of a last chip card instruction of the instruction sequence, a test routine for checking successful personalization; and

if defective personalization is detected, storing information indicating the defective personalization onto the chip card by the test routine.

9. The method as claimed in claim 8, further comprising, as part of the partial personalization, executing a reservation routine reserving a memory area on the chip card accommodating chip card application data generated during execution of the instruction sequence for the supplemental personalization.

10. The method as claimed in claim 9, further comprising blocking invocation of any chip card instructions not contained in the instruction sequence, until the instruction sequence has been completely processed.