NXP
Semiconductors today announced that its contactless microcontroller IC, MIFARE
Plus™, has been adopted by the Turkish highway card-based automated toll
scheme, Kartli Geçis Sistemi (KGS). This high-profile volume rollout
implemented by the Turkish system integrator Aselsan will see NXP supplying
over two million MIFARE Plus chips for the scheme annually. KGS is the most
recent example of how NXP’s contactless MIFARE Plus technology is being
embraced globally.
Since its
release in 2009, NXP’s MIFARE Plus has introduced new standards of security and
privacy to contactless smart card systems. Designed to offer a smooth upgrade
path from MIFARE Classic™, MIFARE Plus enables system integrators to add in
additional security features and functionality into existing MIFARE™
applications. MIFARE Plus has seen significant growth in various security sensitive
applications, such as public transport ticketing schemes, road tolling, loyalty
cards, closed loop micro payment and access management in the public and
private sector.
Launched in
2003, Turkey’s
contactless highway toll collection system covers 1800 kilometres of
motorways and bridges, and carries in excess of 150 million vehicles annually.
As longstanding users of MIFARE technology, in January 2010, the highway toll
operator embarked on a project to migrate the contactless smart card scheme to a
MIFARE Plus-based system. The systems integrator driving the project, Aselsan,
will conduct a phased approach and gradually turn on the various security
features enabled by the reader infrastructure upgrade plan. The respective card
and prelam production as well as programming services are being provided by
SMARTRAC and Plastkart.
“The KGS
system is a major initiative throughout Turkey, and involves a diverse
number of stakeholders including banks to ensure seamless service delivery to
the end user. As a result, the security of the application is paramount,” said
Ahmet Harkota of Aselsan. “When looking to update the security of the KGS
automatic fare collection system, MIFARE Plus was the obvious choice – as well
as providing a number of independently verified security features, the new IC
provides a seamless upgrade path, eliminating the need for any complex
modifications to upgrade the system.”
“MIFARE
Plus is an important addition to the MIFARE technology portfolio. Since the
launch of the product, we have seen a fast adoption from the existing MIFARE
customer base, such as KGS, looking to upgrade existing applications,” said
Henri Ardevol, general manager secure transactions, NXP Semiconductors. “To
date NXP has worked with over 320 partner companies worldwide to support the
adoption of MIFARE Plus, which is now shipping in million units.”
MIFARE Plus
technology features 128-bit Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) and supports
migration from existing MIFARE ClassicTM implementations. The contactless
microcontroller IC offers an upgrade path for system integrators and operators
wishing to implement additional layers of security to their automatic fare
collection, access management and micro-payment installations. In addition, the
product has received Common Criteria EAL 4+ certification by the German Federal
Office for Information Security, and has undergone thorough security and
privacy assessment by the Universities of Bochum and Leuven.
NXP
