Over the last few years, more and more systems adopted RFID and contactless
smart cards as replacement for bar codes, magnetic stripe cards and paper tickets
for a wide variety of applications. Contactless smart cards consist of a small piece
of memory that can be accessed wirelessly, but unlike RFID tags, they also have
some computing capabilities. Most of these cards implement some sort of simple
symmetric-key cryptography, making them suitable for applications that require
access control to the smart card’s memory.
A number of large-scale applications make use of contactless smart cards. For
example, they are used for payment in several public transport systems like the
Oyster card 1 in London and the OV-Chipkaart 2 in The Netherlands, among oth-
ers. Many countries have already incorporated a contactless smart card in their
electronic passports [HHJ + 06]. Many office buildings and even secured facilities
like airports and military bases use contactless smart cards for access control.
There is a huge variety of cards on the market. They differ in size, casing, mem-
ory, and computing power. They also differ in the security features they provide.
1
http://oyster.tfl.gov.uk
2
http://www.ov-chipkaart.nl