Technology for passport and ID security on the rise

Even if attackers eavesdrop on the data signals, all they see is encrypted and illegible information. Integrity Guard was developed for applications with high data security requirements for a particularly long life cycle.

“With Integrity Guard we provide an unrivalled security solution for the connected world through one of the world’s most advanced technologies,” said Thomas Rosteck, Division President of Chip Card & Security at Infineon Technologies. “At Infineon, we are proud that through Integrity Guard we have set the technological standard for chip-based security.”

Integrity Guard is a security technology inspired by the storage and processing of information within living cells – more specifically, the double helix of DNA. The technical realisation of this innovation equips controllers with robust digital mechanisms.

These protect secure data and monitor security conditions. Through Integrity Guard, the controller reacts autonomously to security threats. At the core of this self-checking design is a double CPU that performs a continuous self-check of all operations. This results in “integrity protection” – hence the name “Integrity Guard.”

Another key element of Integrity Guard is its comprehensive encryption of the entire data path, preventing plaintext from appearing in plain sight on chips. It is still the first time ever in the history of commercial security controllers that both CPUs make use of fully hardware-encrypted algorithms with different dynamic keys.

This is only possible because Infineon, having facilitated the integration of real encrypted operations, has implemented the CPUs from scratch. Infineon’s SLE 78 family has set new standards for government ID projects.

Building on this success, Infineon launched the SLC 52G as its next-generation security controller family. In combination with the existing SLE 78 product family, the extended SLC 52G portfolio is prepared to meet governmental identification requirements beyond 2020.

Infineon’s Integrity Guard technology was awarded Germany’s Industry Innovation Award and Sesame Award – both honored the digital security technology for its outstanding innovation.

The Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) confirmed the high level of security of Infineon’s Integrity Guard-based security chips, using the “Common Criteria” as a basis – the internationally recognised standard for the rigorous assessment and certification of security chips.

More than 20 Common Criteria EAL 6+ Certificates, maintenance certificates or reassessments for security controllers based on Integrity Guard have been achieved. The security controller also meets the security requirements for payment cards from EMVCo*.