Semiconductor Engineering editor in chief Ed Sperling recently noted that data center architecture has experienced very few radical changes since the commercial introduction of the IBM System/360 mainframe way back in 1964. “There have been incremental improvements in speed and throughput over the years, with a move to a client/server model in the 1990s, but from a high level this is still an environment where data is processed and stored centrally and accessed globally,” Sperling wrote.
Data centers eye next-gen memory options
Duquesne University installs Cooper WaveStream-based LED lighting in library
Planar, light-guide-based SSL products offer adjustable mechanical form factor and deliver both indirect and direct light along with significant energy savings relative to the fluorescent incumbents.
Understanding the methodology behind side-channel attacks
Rambus Cryptography Research Fellow Pankaj Rohatgi recently penned an in-depth EDN article describing the methodology behind side-channel attacks. The technique, says Rohatgi, relies on the fact that any physical realization of cryptography in hardware or software cannot be an “atomic black box” as assumed by the traditional mathematical proofs of security. Simply put, physical systems routinely leak information about the internal process of computing.
ANZ Bank Selects Bell ID for HCE Mobile Payments
Bell ID technology powers cloud-based mobile payment functionality inside ANZ goMoney mobile app
Host card emulation (HCE) specialist, Bell ID is enabling the launch of ANZ New Zealand’s upgraded goMoney mobile app, which is set to feature a cloud-based HCE near field communication (NFC) mobile wallet. The project, for the New Zealand division of ANZ Bank, will bring contactless mobile payments to the smartphones of more than 120,000 ANZ customers.
The ANZ goMoney wallet leverages Bell ID’s Secure Element (SE) in the Cloud software platform, easing the delivery of secure mobile payment services as it removes the need for a separate app or SIM card upgrade for customers. “Much of the complexity associated with launching a mobile payments service is removed by storing the payment credentials in the cloud,” explains Pat Curran, Executive Chairman at Bell ID. “Australia and New Zealand are hotbeds for mobile payments innovation at the moment and ANZ is leading the charge. ANZ can now create, issue and manage the lifecycle of HCE contactless payment cards, offering cutting edge services to its customers.”
The solution manages keys, certificates and credentials in a secure remote environment rather than in the mobile device, providing application issuers with the independence and control to manage their credentials, without the need for third party involvement. It provides the functionality to complete (EMV payment) transactions using a standard contactless terminal and acceptance infrastructure.
ANZ’s Head of Digital Channels and Transformation, Liz Maguire, adds: “The mobile wallet is the next evolution in payments, enabling customers to use smartphones to make everyday credit or debit card purchases – such as coffee, petrol or groceries. Bell ID’s platform gave us all of the functionality we needed to bring this upgrade to market and gives us the option for further development down the line.”
“HCE is no longer a buzz word or just the latest innovation. Solutions like SE in the Cloud are delivering mobile services to millions of customers around the world. The flexibility, control and speed to market offered by HCE makes it extremely attractive for banks like ANZ. And, as the platform is fully compliant to the latest international standards for mobile payment security and supports advanced on-device risk management, banks and customers can be confident that their money is safe,” concludes Pat Curran.
To find out more about mobile cloud payments using HCE, visit the Bell ID website. Bell ID’s full suite of mobile solutions supports cloud based solutions using HCE, EMVCo tokenization, trusted services management (TSM) for SIM-based projects and for embedded secure element solutions such as Apple Pay and Samsung Pay.
Securing silicon with a hardware-based root of trust
Steven Woo, VP of solutions marketing and distinguished inventor at Rambus, recently sat down with Anne Fisher of Embedded Systems Engineering to discuss the burgeoning security requirements of a rapidly growing Internet of Things (IoT).
U.S. merchants prep for smart credit cards
Writing for the Institutional Investor, analyst Jeffrey Kutler reports that U.S. merchants – in an effort to limit loss liability – face an October 2015 deadline to install PoS (Point of Service) devices compatible with the E.M.V. standard. “[This] enables them to read cards equipped with computer chips, which are far less vulnerable to fraud and forgery than the old magnetic stripes, and which card issuers are currently distributing,” Kutler explains.
