Letters

Simplifying the Construction and Operationof Smart Card Systems: NICE V4.1
Yoshiki Ito, Masashi Tanaka, Junko Hashimoto, Kenji Murai,
Koji Kishi, Shinichi Hirata, Takahiro Yamamoto†, and Sei Ijuin
Abstract
The NICE platform for issuing and managing multi-application smart cards has been enhanced withnew functions including ones for joint-use, card reissue, and multi-language support to simplify the construction and operation of smart card systems. We describes these functions and their effects in this article.

1. Background
Smart cards are attracting attention as one way ofenhancing security in the information society. If they
can be designed to store more than one application,
users will be able to receive multiple services withjust one card, which will be more convenient. Cardsof this type are called “multi-application smartcards”. NTT is developing a smart-card management
platform called NICE [1]-[6] that enables applications to be safely downloaded onto or deleted frommulti-application smart cards over Internet-like networks. This platform has begun to be used in the government sector for resident registration cards and in
the corporate sector for employee ID cards.
NICE V4.1 features four new functions which havebeen developed to (1) reduce construction and operating costs of smart-card systems and simplify theiroperation for small and medium-size companies andlocal governments and (2) expand the use of NICE to
new fields including finance and international applications.
2. New functions
2.1 Joint-use
In the past, an enterprise that wished to deploy asystem for issuing and managing smart cards had to† NTT Service Integration Laboratories
Musashino-shi, 180-8585 JapanE-mail: yamamoto.takahiro@lab.ntt.co.jp

Vol. 2 No. 5 May 2004

purchase servers and other equipment and softwareand then construct and operate the system. The highcost of doing this has generated a demand from small
and medium-size companies and local governments,
which must manage a relatively small number ofcards, for ways to reduce the cost of constructing andoperating a smart card system. One effective way is tohave multiple users share a single issuing/managing
server and to allow users to access it from their business offices over an Internet virtual private network.
Such a server could be operated on an ASP (application service provider) business model.
The joint-use function (Fig. 1) means that users
only need a standard PC, simple smart-card issuingequipment, and an Internet connection environment
to be able to use most NICE functions ranging fromcard issuing to card management from the convenience of their own offices. (If larger numbers ofcards need to be issued, card issuing equipment could
be located at a joint-use center or the task of issuing
cards could be allocated to card manufacturers.)
Compared with purchasing a server and software anddeploying NICE on their own, using this scheme lets
users can significantly reduce construction and operation costs.
2.2 Simplified OpS
Because NICE has mainly been incorporated intosystems designed for specific applications, it has usually been operated in customized forms. To enable theNICE system to be customized easily, the NICE server consists of two parts: the “core” provides common35

Letters

NICE joint-use center

Data

Card issuing data

NICE server

Card issuing data

User C
User B
User A
Card issuer Card issuer
Card issuer
systemsystemsystemCard issuing results
Center operator’sterminal

Card issuing results

Cardmanufacturer

Service provider
systemCard holder Card holder
information informationCard holder
information

Results

Simple card-issuingequipment

Card

Mail

Mail

IP-VPN*

Card
Card holder information
Card issuing results

InternetDownloading applications
to smartcard

Card issuing data

User B
User A
General affairs
department

Data

Business
department
Card

CardResults
Simple card-issuing equipment
Operator’s terminal

User terminal* IP-VPN: Internet protocol virtual private network

Fig. 1. Joint-use function of NICE.

management functions irreLogin tospective of the target applicaother system
First screen ofFirst screen oftion and the “business OpS” cancard-managementcard-issuingsystemsystembe customized to suit the target
business. The previous business
OpS (operations system) was
designed to accommodate variFirst screen of
simplified OpSous operation formats so thesetup and operation procedures
were inevitably complicated at×3times. Thus it is not very suitable for small and medium-size
Screen transitions
companies and local governreduced from 19 to 2ments that cannot employ fulltime operators.
With this in mind, we developed an easy-to-use business
OpS that enables users to perPrevious operation screens
NICE V4.1 operation screens
form basic operations ranging
Fig. 2. Simplified card-issuing task.
from card issuance to daily
management tasks after only
one day of training. It was also designed to enable
The results revealed that registering the results ofusers to customize display messages and the layout ofissuing a card, for example, required 15 screen tranoperation screens as needed.
sitions, 1 input operation, and 4 command execu(1) Simplified operationtions. The new OpS significantly reduces this to 2
To clarify the necessary and sufficient operating
screen transitions, 1 input operation, and 1 commandprocedures in daily operations and to implement anexecution (Fig. 2). Furthermore, by dividing menu
easy-to-operate business OpS, we analyzed the freand operation screens into frames and arranging
quency of performing certain functions and collected
screen elements in a consistent manner, we were able
requests for system improvements from operators.
to eliminate excess screen transitions and scrolling.
36NTT Technical Review

Letters

We also made it easier to perform operations without
having to refer to manuals by providing a help display
for each operation.
(2) Simplified customization
The simplified business OpS has been designed sothat text messages displayed on operation screens canbe read from a text file instead of being embedded insource-program files. This makes it possible to modify messages on screens simply by editing text files
using a text editor. Moreover, screen layouts are now
specified by style sheets, making it easy to modify
screens according to the type of business being performed. These changes can reduce labor to 1/15 thatfor the previous OpS even when performing an overall customization of messages and screen layout.
(3) Extensive search functions
Users asked to be able to specify card user attributes (attribute codes, etc.) for each application system
as a search condition when searching for card user
information, card issuing results, and other data. This
capability has been implemented, and the number oflines displayed in the search results can be specified
for even greater customization.
2.3 Card reissue function for restoring evenindividual user data
When a multi-application smart card is reissued
because of expiration, loss, theft, or damage, (1) theapplications stored on the old card must be loaded
onto the new card and (2) individual user data (suchas user attributes and account balance) stored bythese applications must be restored for each application on the new card. In previous versions of NICE
and in smart-card management functions of othercompanies, the first action is done automatically. The

Card issuer
Multi-application reissue function
Application
management
function

Function for
managing individualuser data

Customerdatabasesecond action cannot automatically restore individualuser data that was updated after the card was issued,
so service providers that provide applications mustrestore data for each reissued card by themselves.
Since the number of reissued cards is expected toincrease dramatically in the years to come as the useof multi-application smart cards spreads, there is agreat need to make this data restoration more efficient.
NICE V4.1 includes an enhanced card-reissue
function (Fig. 3) that enables a card issuer to get thelatest individual user data stored and managed in eachservice provider’s database and restore it in an application on the new card. This is accomplished by preregistering with NICE a script for generating restore
commands by the service provider, and then using
this script together with the latest user data provided
by the service provider via the network to restore
individual user data on the new card. In short, anapplication can be restored on a card up to its mostrecent state possessed by the service provider even in
the case of a lost card. This new card reissue function
makes it possible to carry out card-reissue processing
by NICE alone and to reduce the reissuing work by
about 80% for a card containing ten applications.
2.4 Multi-language support function
To enable NICE to be used in any country, the messages that it outputs must be written in the languageof the target country. Moreover, it is necessary to satisfy both Japanese export laws and the importing
country’s laws governing the use of cryptography. We
therefore made it easy to change the language of output messages and to replace the cryptography
scheme. Figure 4 shows how this multi-language

Service provider#1

Service provider#2

Service provider#3

AP#1
individualuser data

AP#2
individualuser data

AP#3
individualuser data

Data restoration
scriptLoads applications andrestores individual user
data for each application
based on information incustomer database.

Reissue

AP AP AP#1 #2 #3

AP
#1

AP
#2

Data restoration
scriptAP#3

Data restoration
scriptSends individual user data
and data restoration script
AP: application

Fig. 3. Card reissue function.

Vol. 2 No. 5 May 200437

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Customize for each country

Previous NICE structure
Messages (in Japanese)

NICE V4.1 structure
Cryptography
library

Separates
messages fromprogram sources

Internal Unicode(character code
GB2312)
Expansion
to various
countries

Convert to English

Simplifies
language changeInternal SJIS code

• Internal character code
covers Japanese (SJIS)
only• Messages are embedded
in programs

Convert to Chinese Chinese support

Incorporates
cryptography
library on-site• Converts internal character code to Unicodeand enables input/output character code tosupport multiple languages• Separates message and program sections• Enables cryptography library (server section)
to be exchangedIncorporates
cryptography
library
English support

Convert to French
French support(character codeISO8859-1)•••

Fig. 4. Multi-language support.

function is achieved in NICE.
(1) Easy localization
Screen messages are stored in specific text files andstyle sheets are used to manage screens, text, and layout so that screen information can be easily changed
to the target language by simply translating the text
section. NICE uses Unicode*1 for input/output data
and files and for database character codes, so it is possible to input and output card-holder informationsuch as names and addresses in the language of thetarget country.
(2) Easy replacement of the cryptography products
The cryptography processing is based on the Java
Cryptography Extension (JCE), a Java standard cryptography interface independent of specific cryptography products. Consequently, users in other countries
can replace cryptography products with others having the JCE interface.

3. Future plans
Capitalizing on the NICE V4.1 features described
here, we plan to expand this joint-use multi-application smart card system to the corporate and government fields and pursue global expansion.
References
[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

*1 Unicode: A character code specified by the Unicode Consortium
representing characters of many languages in 2 to 4 bytes. It is
incorporated in ISO 10464-1 and, in Japan, in JIS X0221.

38

[6]

R. Toji, Y. Wada, S. Hirata, and K. Suzuki, “A Network-based Platform for Multi-Application Smart Cards,” Proceedings of Fifth IEEE
International Enterprise Distributed Object Conference (EDOC2001),
Seattle, U.S.A., IEEE Computer Society Press, pp. 34-45, Sep. 2001.
S. Yamamoto, R. Toji, S. Hirata, and E. Niwano, “Smart Card Information Sharing Platform: NICE,” NTT Technical Journal, Vol. 13,No. 12, pp. 46-48, 2001 (in Japanese).
R. Toji, Y. Wada, S. Hirata, and K. Suzuki, “NICE – A Networkbased Platform for Multi-Application Smart Cards,” NTT REVIEW,
Vol. 14, No. 1, pp. 13-19, 2002.
R. Toji, Y. Wada, S. Hirata, and K. Suzuki, “NICE – A Service-oriented Platform for Multi-Application Smart Cards,” Proceedings of eSmart 2002, Nice, France, pp. 45-56, Sep. 2002.
R. Toji and Y. Wada, “A Multi-card Architecture for Smart Card
Management Systems,” NTT Technical Review, Vol. 1, No. 6, pp. 7075, 2003.
S. Ijuin, T. Yamamoto, S. Hirata, K. Suzuki, Y. Wada, T. Kashiwagi,and N. Kaku, “Development of a NICE-based Smart Card System
Conforming to the GlobalPlatform Specifications,” NTT Technical
Review, Vol. 2, No. 4, pp. 66-69, 2004.

NTT Technical Review

Letters

Yoshiki Ito

Koji Kishi

Smartcard Service Promotion Project, NTT
Service Integration Laboratories.
He received the B.E degree in electrical engineering from Akita National College of Technology, Akita in 2000. He joined NTT in 2002. Heis engaged in the development of NICE.

Smartcard Service Promotion Project, NTT
Service Integration Laboratories.
He received the B.A. and M.A. degrees in fundamental science from the University of Tokyo,
Tokyo in 1994 and 1996, respectively. He joined
NTT in 1996. He is engaged in the developmentof NICE.

Masashi Tanaka

Shinichi Hirata

Smartcard Service Promotion Project, NTT
Service Integration Laboratories.
He received the B.E and M.E. degrees inmechanical engineering from Osaka Prefecture
University, Osaka in 1999 and 2001, respectively. He joined NTT in 2001. He is engaged in thedevelopment of NICE.

Smartcard Service Promotion Project, NTT
Service Integration Laboratories.
He received the B.E. degree in mathematics
from Hokkaido University, Hokkaido in 1990.
He joined NTT in 1990. He is engaged in thedevelopment of NICE.

Junko Hashimoto

Takahiro Yamamoto

Smartcard Service Promotion Project, NTT
Service Integration Laboratories.
She received the B.E. and M.E. degrees in
information engineering from Kyushu University, Fukuoka in 1997 and 1999, respectively. She
joined NTT in 1999. She is engaged in the development of NICE.

Smartcard Service Promotion Project, NTT
Service Integration Laboratories.
He received the B.E. degree in electrical engineering and the M.E degree in information engineering from Nagoya University, Nagoya in
1987 and 1989, respectively. He joined NTT in1989. He is engaged in the development ofNICE.

Kenji Murai

Sei Ijuin

Smartcard Service Promotion Project, NTT
Service Integration Laboratories.
He received the B.A. degree from the Facultyof Environmental Information, Keio University,
Kanagawa in 1995. He joined NTT in 1995. He
is engaged in the development of NICE.

Senior Research Engineer, Smartcard Service
Promotion Project, NTT Service Integration
Laboratories.
He received the B.E. and M.E. degrees in electrical engineering from Waseda University,
Tokyo in 1977 and 1979, respectively. In 1979,he joined Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Public Corporation (now NTT), Tokyo, Japan. He is
engaged in the development of NICE.

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