As an Operating System implementer our
responsibility extends far beyond the mere provisioning of chips.
In addition to developing applications, we take great pride in
creating the tools and service offerings that further support
issuers through every stage of the chip life cycle.
Customization utility tool (CU Tool)
This PC-based software is a critical component in the issuance
process. It enables the issuer to distinguish between those
application parameters that are consistent across a programme
implementation and those that are specific to individual
cardholders. The primary output of the CU Tool is a file referred
to as an application template. The template has two primary
purposes:
- First, it defines the final structure of the application that
will ultimately be loaded to the chip
- Second, this template is populated with values for those
parameters that are unchanging, ie, those that are not
cardholder-specific. Since these constant values need only be
entered once into the CU Tool, the time required to create a
personalized, cardholder-specific, application is greatly
reduced.
Subsequent to customization, the application template serves as
input to the process of data preparation. It is during data
preparation that the template is augmented with cardholder-specific
data including any cryptographic keys that may be required by the
application.
Application personalization results in a complete application
that is able to be loaded to the chip during the process of card
personalization, which generally entails encoding, embossing and
application loading.
The CU Tool serves to reduce costs related to:
- implementation
- personalization, and
- technical support.
Control Centre
This software is usually operated in-house by the issuer, or an
issuers representative, such as a card bureau. The main files
created by Control Centre are:
- Enablement data necessary to activate the chips and link them
cryptographically to the issuer. Once a chip is enabled it will
only accept for loading those applications that have been created,
or otherwise sanctioned, by the issuer that created the enablement
data
- Application load certificates which must be presented to the
chip at the time of application loading. These files, and the
related application delete certificates, ensure that the issuer
alone is responsible for the mix of applications that are resident
on the chip at any instance throughout its lifecycle.
This tool is only pertinent to MULTOS step/one implementations.
Control Centre essentially performs those duties that are otherwise
handled by the key management authority for MULTOS
implementations.
Control Centre is PC-based and is provided to issuers via a
CD-ROM. It incorporates the use of secure smartcard tokens,
supplied and loaded by Multos International.
These PIN-protected smartcards provide for the secure execution
of administrative and operational tasks within Control Centre.
Furthermore, the symmetric 3DES keys securely stored on these
smartcards provide the cryptographic capability to link both the
enablement data and the application load/delete certificates to the
individual ships.
Test environment
We also provide various tools intended to assist issuers,
bureaus and research labs in loading test applications. Generally,
these applications are loaded to developer cards which are
pre-enabled and do not require application load certificates.
Such an environment is intended to test the functionality of
specific application configurations, thereby mitigating the
potential for errors during mass production.