From: Lucky Green <shamrock@cypherpunks.to>
Date: Sun, 14 Dec 1997 10:08:51 +0800
To: Alan <alan@clueserver.org>
Subject: Re: Smartcard update
In-Reply-To: <Pine.LNX.3.95.971213171014.31808B-100000@www.ctrl-alt-del.com>
Message-ID: <Pine.BSF.3.96.971214024451.27437A-100000@pakastelohi.cypherpunks.to>
MIME-Version: 1.0
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On Sat, 13 Dec 1997, Alan wrote:
> What kind of cash outlay would I be looking at for doing smartcard
> development?  What do the needed parts run?  Any recomendations on
> suppliers?  Places to avoid?

You can get started for ~$100. You need:
o Smartcard reader. You can sodder one yourself from the specs we have
online, or you can buy  one of the commercial reader we support. [To all
of you with commmercial readers we don't already support; how about
writing a table for our reader abstraction layer]?

We currently support the home-built Dumb Mouse, Schlumberger, Gemplus, and
Phillips readers. Either one of these outfits will sell you one of their
readers for ~$100. They are all equally capable. It doesn't matter
which one you get. The Gemplus reader looks the coolest. Email me if you
need a contact address.

o ISO7816-[3,4] -3 is online, -4 isn't yet, pending a good copy that can
be scanned. But you can get by with just 7816-3.  I am.

o A smartcard, ideally with programmer reference manual. Gemplus will send
you their reference in PDF and a sample GPK4000 (sig only) for free. 
Schlumberger will sell you 4 CryptoFlex cards for $80, but requires an NDA
for the manual. Bull is between card revisions and doesn't really have any
intresting crypto cards at the moment. Same with Siemens. If your interst
is more towards cash cards, we already have  support for Chipknip
(Proton). Beyond that, you are on your own. But if it speaks ISO7816, you
can write an STEST table for it. In fact, you can write the table from the
manual without ever touching a card. But this  is less gratifying. Still,
we would be thankful for any and all tables  added to STEST.

More info (the site needs updating)  is at
https://www.cypherpunks.to/scard/

-- Lucky Green <shamrock@cypherpunks.to> PGP v5 encrypted email preferred.
   "Tonga? Where the hell is Tonga? They have Cypherpunks there?"