Smart cards

ANZ PKI uses smart cards to store private keys as well as digital certificates that contain public keys. A smart card is the size of a credit card and contains an embedded computer chip that stores information in electronic form and controls the use of that information.

Smart cards provide:

• an efficient, flexible and portable medium for authenticating identities
• tamper-resistant storage for protecting digital certificates, keys and other forms of personal information
• portability of credentials between computers at work, at home or on the road
• greater protection against theft or impersonation.

Smart card readers

A smart card reader is required to allow the reading of smart cards. These either connect to your PC through a serial or USB port or are built into the PC.