“S3B512C combines a fingerprint sensor, Secure Element (SE) and Secure Processor, adding an extra layer of authentication and security in payment cards,” said Kenny Han, Vice President of System LSI Marketing at Samsung Electronics. “The S3B512C is primarily designed for payment cards but can also be used in cards that require highly secured authentications such as student or employee identification, membership or building access.”

The new security IC is the industry’s first all-in-one security chip solution that reads biometric information through a fingerprint sensor, stores and authenticates encrypted data with a tamper-proof SE, and analyzes and processes data with a Secure Processor. With the three key functions integrated in a single chip, the S3B512C can help card manufacturers reduce the number of chips required and optimize card design processes for biometric payment cards.

With the new security IC embedded, biometric payment cards will allow faster and safer interactions when making purchases. The biometric authentication removes the need to enter a PIN on a keypad and also prevents fraudulent transactions made with lost or stolen cards as it verifies the cardholder’s identity using a unique and securely stored fingerprint.

The solution’s encrypted fingerprint data is stored in a SE that has received globally accredited certifications such as EMVCo and CC EAL 6+. To safely and accurately verify the user’s identity, the new IC comes with a proprietary fingerprint authentication algorithm and a Secure Processor that extracts and analyzes the unique features of the fingerprint placed on the sensor. Furthermore, the chip’s anti-spoofing technology prevents unauthorized users from circumventing the security system with illegitimate methods such as artificial fingerprints.

Samsung Electronics, a world leader in advanced semiconductor technology, today introduced its integrated Secure Element (SE) solution for Internet of Things (IoT) applications that offers a turn-key service for both hardware and software needs.

As the benefits of IoT devices grow, so does the importance of security throughout the network that spans from cloud, servers and hubs to the individual connected devices. With both hardware and software support for the security requirements in today’s IoT devices, Samsung’s SE solution will help chip manufacturers to easily employ reliable security features, and bring innovative products and services to market faster.

At the hardware level, Samsung’s SE will stop and reset itself the moment it detects abnormal activity, thus protecting the sensitive data stored within the security IC (integrated circuit). The SE adopts embedded flash (eFlash) for the first time in the industry at the 45-nanometer (nm) process node, which brings faster data processing and more flexible software modifications compared to traditional EEPROMs (electrically erasable programmable read-only memory).

Samsung’s dedicated software for the SE supports various tasks such as personal verification, security key storage, and encoding and decoding. This software also allows key and authentication information to be safely transferred between devices, servers and clouds.

“Securing personal information stored on electronic devices and in the cloud is a top priority,” said Ben K. Hur, Vice President of System LSI marketing at Samsung Electronics. “Samsung’s Secure Element solution is another demonstration of our advanced security technology that has been proven through mobile application processors (AP), smart card ICs and other semiconductor products. We believe that applications for Samsung’s SE solution will continue to diversify along with the vastly expanding IoT industry.”

The SE and developer board are on display at the Samsung Developer Conference on October 18 and 19, 2017, in San Francisco, USA.