MUNICH--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Open Standard for Public Transport (OSPT™) Alliance today announced that the CIPURSE™ V2 Secure Access Module (SAM) specification, the Key Management document, and the description of the most common SAM Use Cases have been finalized and are available for download by Alliance members and evaluators. The release of the specification marks an important milestone in enabling the development of CIPURSE-based security modules and CIPURSE-compliant contactless reader terminals.
“We are pleased to release the SAM specification and other documentation to the international transport ticketing ecosystem,” said Laurent Cremer, executive director of the OSPT Alliance. “Members of the OSPT Alliance have contributed greatly to evolving the specification over time and the SAM Working Group has done a tremendous job in coordinating reviews and delivering the document.”
The OSPT SAM Working Group is chaired by a representative from Ecebs and also includes representatives from Oberthur Technologies and Infineon Technologies.
The OSPT is making the SAM specifications available at no charge to its members, associate members, and evaluators. To apply for membership, please go to http://www.osptalliance.org/become_a_member.
Secure access modules, known as SAMs, are secure microcontrollers that store cryptographic functions and keys commonly used in electronic transactions. In transit markets, SAMs are embedded in card readers, enabling passengers to use smart tokens or NFC smart devices to access transit instead of buying paper tickets. SAMs must be able to accept cryptographic key updates periodically to maintain high levels of security. The CIPURSE SAM Specification specifies the operational interface between CIPURSE SAMs and CIPURSE-compliant terminals, defining the CIPURSE SAM data objects and file system to ensure interoperability during personalization and field usage.
“The CIPURSE SAM Specification is part of the open, secure CIPURSE V2 standard and provides support for cryptographic APIs,” added Cremer. “Transit developers can base their solutions on the CIPURSE SAM specification to simplify development and help ensure that their solutions can be future-proofed when needed to support secure transactions in ever-changing threat environments.”
Designed as a layered, modular architecture with application-specific profiles, the open and secure CIPURSE V2 standard comprises a single, consistent set of specifications for all security, personalization, administration and life-cycle management functions needed to create a broad range of interoperable transit applications—from inexpensive single-ride or daily paper tickets to rechargeable fixed-count or weekly plastic tickets to longer-term smart card or smart phone-based commuter tickets that can also support loyalty and other applications.
CIPURSE V2, the latest version of the standard, and the SAM specification are available for download from the OSPT Alliance web site at www.osptalliance.org.
About the OSPT Alliance
The OSPT Alliance is an international association chartered to define a new open standard for secure transit fare collection solutions. It provides industry education, creates workgroup opportunities and catalyzes the development and adoption of innovative fare collection technologies, applications and services. The OSPT Alliance was founded by leading technology companies, and membership is open to technology providers, transit operators, consultants, solution vendors, government agencies and other stakeholders in the transit ecosystem. For additional information, please visit www.osptalliance.org.