The smart card (SPOM - Self-Programmable One-chip Microcomputer) was invented at the end of the Seventies per Michel Ugon (Bull CP8). The French group of bank cards CB was created in 1985 and has allowed the diffusion of 10 million devices (cash card). Today smart cards are used as electronic purse, in transport applications (contact less card), mobile phone (card SIM), Health, and for network security purposes (RSA card). One estimates a market of one billion of cards including a microprocessor for the year 2000.

Today the card technology works with 8 bits processors whose memory sizes are about a few ten KB. The size of the chips is limited (# 25 mm2) by the flexibility of the support plastic (PVC). A new generation of 32 bits RISC processor will be defined at the beginning of the next millenium.

In addition to the physical security, which is based on the fact that it is impossible to read the code or the data stored in the chip, the card traditionally provides two kinds of services:

• Encryption algorithms and the associated keys, these features are required to perform security functions like encryption, digital signature, and authentication
• Data files protected against reading/writing operations by various methods of authentication.