Patent ID: 8621168

Claim:
A computer-implemented method for partitioning namespaces of secure elements into at least two storage types by control software applications within secure elements, comprising: defining, in a control software application, a first access key and a second access key for a plurality of sectors within a secure element namespace of a secure element, each sector comprising at least an access memory block and a plurality of data memory blocks, the access memory block storing an access type for each sector, wherein the first access key controls access to the memory blocks in a sector, and the second access key overrides changes to the first access key; assigning, by the control software application, a first access type to a first sector, the first access type comprising providing the first and second access key to a first application such that the control software application can reclaim control of the first sector only if the first application cooperates by returning the first access key and second access key to an initialized state; assigning, by the control software application, a second access type to a second sector, the second access type comprising providing only the first access key to a second application such that the control software application can reclaim control of the second sector using the second access key to return the first access key to an initialized state even if the second application does not cooperate by returning the first access key to an initialized state; and transmitting, from the control software application, for storage in the access memory block for at least each of the first and second sectors appropriate ones of the first access key and the second access key to provide the selected access type for each respective selected sector, thereby partitioning the namespace of the secure element into at least two storage types.