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Smart Insights Weekly is a weekly newsletter covering the smart card industry, its businesses, its technologies, and of course, its markets as well as its technology suppliers. Smart Insights covers all the major trends in the industry, it encompasses worldwide business, public and private standardization bodies, industry analysts and also the people belonging to the Smart Card Industry community.

Smart Insights Reports cover the smart card or secure transaction industry. They are industry reports covering a technology, a geographical area or a major issue in the industry. Smart Insights Reports include qualitative and quantitative analysis. They are built on a combination of primary research and secondary research, supported by an intimate knowledge thanks to years of experience in the smart card industry.

Smart Insights publications are brought to you by Thierry Spanjaard who has more than 20 years experience in the industry, in a variety of positions.

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Fraunhofer researchers are devising and facilitating technical systems for the use and security of the new digitally-readable personal identity card, on behalf of the German federal ministry of the interior (BMI).

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London transit authority Transport for London is dumping its Mifare Classic cards and will start to move its popular Oyster fare-collection program to Mifare DESFire technology. In 2008, Mifare Classic cards has been cracked by Dutch hackers which raised concerns about contactless cards security (cf. Smart Insights Weekly #08-11).

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American Banknote Brazil just announced the acquisition of Spanish Microelectronica Española (MEE), a subsidiary of SanDisk Corporation, for EUR 13 million. The project ahs already been approved by ABnote Board of Directors. The company expects to complete the acquisition, paid in cash before the end of this month. 
 The president of ABnote, Sidney Levy, said in a statement that with this operation "we become qualified to meet the demand for SIM cards from all four Brazilian mobile operators." 


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Researchers at the University of Cambridge Computer Laboratory have uncovered flaws in the Chip and PIN system that allow criminals to use stolen credit and debit cards without knowing the correct PIN.

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China Mobile has just ordered 3 million “RF-SIMs”, that will allow to combine mobile communications with secure transactions. The mobile network operator’s objective is to provide payment and access control services to visitors to the upcoming Shanghai World Expo. Visitors will be invited to swap out their existing SIMs for RF-SIMs to interact with the contactless payment infrastructure that will be put into place.

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Infinite Peripherals, a US-based provider of receipt printers for the POS market portable just enveiled an integrated barcode scanner and magstripe reader solution named Linea Pro, compatible with iPod touch.

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Gemalto has just acquired Valimo Wireless. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

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In France, Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet, sub minister for development of digital economy, presented the concept of digital identity based multi-services on the issuance of a certificate.

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The roll-out of Germany’s national e-health smart card has been put on hold, with a review to be carried out of security and confidentiality. The project had been hailed as the most extensive e-health communication project in the world.

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Cryptography Research (CRI) announced that in 2009, more than 4.5 billion security chips were manufactured under license to CRI’s semiconductor security technologies. The company’s business and technical growth in 2009 result from long-term investments in developing solutions to challenging and costly security and piracy challenges. Since mid-2008, Cryptography Research has signed a series of agreements with semiconductor vendors and other important stakeholders in the smart card industry value chain. Cryptography Research licensees include : Infineon (cf. Smart Insights Weekly #08-38), Renesas, (cf. SIW #08-39), NXP (cf. SIW 08-46), MasterCard (cf. SIW 09-21), Samsung Electronics (cf. SIW #09-25), Inside Contactless, Atmel, and EM Microelectronic – Marin (cf. SIW 09-37), and ST Microelectronics (cf. SIW 09-48). Also in 2009, MasterCard began requiring that its suppliers have a license from CRI. CRI says its licensed DPA countermeasures are now found in more than 95% of smart cards produced annually.

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