On Mon, 14 Jul 2008 18:42:25 +0100, Tom Anderson
wrote:

That article isn't outrageously detailed or specific, but taking it
together with the generic article on smart cards, i'd say that Oyster is
basically just memory, with a chip for accessing it and doing some
encryption. I would imagine it doesn't have firmware, BICBW.

So, a lot more basic than, say, Chip & PIN, which uses a Java-based (I
think) card that is actually a computer in its own right, thus giving
a far higher level of security than a card with just a PIN number
stored in memory on it. (You can't, for instance, retrieve the PIN
from a C&P card, only ask it if the PIN you give is correct, and you
can only do that 3 times before it locks).

If true, that is genuinely surprising.

Neil

--
Neil Williams
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