Smart Cards: The Open Platform Protection Profile (OP3)

Global Platform’s “Open Platform Specification” sets a new cross-industry standard for smart cards, governing the loading, installation and removal of applications at any time that the card is on-line during the card lifecycle prior to card termination. The Open Platform Protection Profile (OP3) recasts the Open Platform (OP) security requirements into the language of the Common Criteria (CC) to facilitate the formal evaluation of OP smart cards. In doing so, OP3 stretches the CC to new limits. There are four areas of innovation: The use of “packages” to deal with the optional components within the OP Card Specification. The use of the CC to evaluate Java Card TM byte code verification algorithms. The integration of the Target of Evaluation (TOE) with the “Card/Chip Operating Environment (COE)” on which the OP software sits. The definition of an Application Programming Interface (API), so that applications may use a variety of OP security services without the need to re-evaluate OP each time an application is evaluated. The paper also discusses other practical aspects of the application of the CC to the OP Program. It is the authors’ intention that this paper will help people to apply the CC, particularly those who face similar challenges, and to create awareness of the security needs of smart card technology.