PIV Card

The National Institute of Standards and Technology, U.S. Department of Commerce has defined a smart card application. Although not a “national ID card”, it is expected to be used widely in the U.S.federal government and its contractors. Cards with this application are commonly referred to as PIV cards.

NIST Spical Publication 800-73-3 (See below) and related documents define PIV. Part 2 of 800-73-3 defines theADPU commands accepted by the PIV application on the card. The standard does not define all the commands needed to administer a card, leaving this up to the card vendors and card administration software vendors.

The non-administrative commands are standardized, and so any vendor’s card with thePIVapplication should inter operate with any vendor’s client software.

References

• PIVOverview: http://csrc.ncsl.nist.gov/piv-program/
• PIV, PIV Interoperable and PIV Compatible: http://www.idmanagement.gov/documents/PIV_IO_NonFed_Issuers_May2009.pdf. Recommendations on how PIV cards can used outside of the U.S. Goverenment.
• NISTSpecial Publications – 800-73-3: http://csrc.nist.gov/publications/PubsSPs.html
• PIVApproved Cards, Readers, Middleware etc: http://fips201ep.cio.gov/apl.php

Retrieve a connected card reader

In order to start with any use case, we need to select a card reader. The targeted reader will be passed as a parameter to the subsequent methods provided. This is part of the core Trust1Connector functionality. More information about core service functionality can be found on the following page: Core Services.

Just as an example, we instantiate a new gcl (local client) and ask for all connected smart card readers:

LibConfig conf = new LibConfig();
conf.setEnvironment(Environment.DEV);
conf.setDsUri(DS_URI);
conf.setOcvUri(OCV_URI);
conf.setGclClientUri(URI_T1C_GCL);
conf.setApiKey(API_KEY);
conf.setHardwarePinPadForced(false);
conf.setDefaultPollingIntervalInSeconds(5);
conf.setDefaultPollingTimeoutInSeconds(10);
conf.setSessionTimeout(60);
List<GclReader> reader = t1cClient.getCore().getReadersWithInsertedCard();

This will returns us all connected readers:

com.t1t.t1c.GclReader

com.t1t.t1c.GclCard

In the example you'll notice that we are using a Gemalto Ezio Shield reader, and that a card has been inserted.

The container must be instantiated with the GclReader object containing the PIV card, as well as the card's PIN:

PivContainer container = client.getPivContainer(reader, "1234");

Printed information

All FIPS 201 mandatory information printed on the card is duplicated on the chip in this data object.

GclPivPrintedInformation printedInformation = container.getPrintedInformation();

Example response:

com.t1t.t1c.containers.smartcards.piv.GclPivPrintedInformation

Facial Image

The facial image data object supports visual authentication by a guard, and may also be used for automated facial authentication in operator-attended PIV issuance, reissuance, and verification data reset processes.

GclPivFacialImage facialImage = container.getFacialImage();

Example response:

com.t1t.t1c.containers.smartcards.piv.GclPivFacialImage

Certificates

Exposes all the certificates publicly available on the smart card. The following certificates can be found on the card:

• Signing certificate
• Authentication certificate

T1C-JLIB will return the raw base64 certificate, optionally it can also return an java.security.cert.Certificate object. To enable parsing, parse must be set to true.

Certificate Chain

Authentication Certificate

Contains the 'authentication certificate' stored on the smart card. The 'authentication certificate' contains the public key corresponding to the private RSA authentication key. The 'authentication certificate' is needed for pin validation, authentication and singing. The service can be called:

T1cCertificate authenticationCertificate = container.getAuthenticationCertificate();

Response:

com.t1t.t1c.model.T1cCertificate

Signing Certificate

Contains the 'non-repudiation certificate' stored on the smart card. The 'non-repudiation certificate' contains the public key corresponding the private RSA non-repudiation key. The service can be called:

T1cCertificate signingCertificate = container.getSigningCertificate();

Response:

com.t1t.t1c.model.T1cCertificate

Data Filter

Available Data Filters

Filter Certificates

All certificates on the smart card can be dumped at once, or using a filter. In order to read all certificates at once:

PivAllData allData = container.getAllData();

Response:

com.t1t.t1c.containers.smartcards.piv.PivAllData

The filter can be used to ask a list of custom data containers. For example, we want to read only the 'root-certificate' and the 'authentication_certificate':

String filter = container.getAllDataFilters();
PivAllData allData = container.getAllData();

Verify PIN

Without a pinpad

When the native or Java application is responsible for showing the password input, the following request is used to verify a card holder PIN:

Boolean pinVerified = container.verifyPin("1234");

Response:

java.lang.Boolean

With a pinpad

When the pin entry is done on the pin-pad, the following request is used to verify a card holder PIN:

Boolean pinVerified = container.verifyPin();

Response:

java.lang.Boolean

Verify PIN - retries left

After an unsuccesfull PIN verification, the container will throw a com.t1t.t1c.exceptions.VerifyPinException

 Boolean pinVerified = container.verifyPin("1235");

The following exception will be thrown when PIN is wrong:

com.t1t.t1c.exceptions.VerifyPinException

Note that, when the user has at least one retry left, entering a correct PIN resets the PIN retry status.

Sign Data

Data can be signed using the PIV smartcard. To do so, the T1C-GCL facilitates in:

• Retrieving the certificate chain (root, intermediate and non-repudiation certificate)
• Perform a sign operation (private key stays on the smart card)
• Return the signed hash

To get the certificates necessary for signature validation in your back-end:

T1cCertificate signingCertificate = container.getSigningCertificate(true);

Response:

com.t1t.t1c.model.T1cCertificate

Depending on the connected smart card reader. A sign can be executed in 2 modes:

• Using a connected card reader with 'pin-pad' capabilities (keypad and display available)
• Using a connected card reader without 'pin-pad' capabilities (no keypad nor display available)

Security consideration: In order to sign a hash, security considerations prefer using a 'pin-pad'.

Signing algorithm references supported by the card

In order to verify which algorithm can be used for a 'sign' operation, you can call the following method:

List<DigestAlgorithm> signingAlgorithms = container.getAllAlgoRefsForSigning();

Example response:

["SHA1"]

Sign Hash

Without a pinpad

When the native or Java application is responsible for showing the password input, the following request is used to sign a given hash:

String signedData = container.sign(
                //data
                "I2e+u/sgy7fYgh+DWA0p2jzXQ7E=",
                //Digest algorithn
                DigestAlgorithm.SHA256,
                //Optional PIN
                "1234"
);

Response is a base64 encoded signed hash:

"W7wqvWA8m9SBALZPxN0qUCZfB1O/WLaM/silenLzSXXmeR+0nzB7hXC/Lc/fMru82m/AAqCuGTYMPKcIpQG6MtZ/SGVpZUA/71jv3D9CatmGYGZc52cpcb7cqOVT7EmhrMtwo/jyUbi/Dy5c8G05owkbgx6QxnLEuTLkfoqsW9Q="

With a pinpad

When the pin entry is done on the pin-pad, the following request is used to sign a given hash:

String signedData = container.sign(
                //data
                "I2e+u/sgy7fYgh+DWA0p2jzXQ7E=",
                //Digest algorithn
                DigestAlgorithm.SHA256
);

The 'algorithm_reference' property can contain the following values: sha1, sha256 and sha512.

The core services lists connected readers, and if they have pin-pad capability. You can find more information in the Core Service documentation on how to verify card reader capabilities.

Calculate Hash

In order to calculate a hash from the data to sign, you need to know the algorithm you will use in order to sign. You might have noticed the algorithm_reference property provided in the sign request. The algorithm_reference can be one of the values: sha1, sha256 and sha512. For example, we want the following text to be signed using:

This is sample text to demonstrate siging with PIV smartcard

You can use the following online tool to calculate the SHA1: http://www.sha1-online.com

Hexadecimal result:

OTY4ODM2ODg3ODg3YWViYzdlZDBiMDgwMjQxZGQ5N2M4N2ZlMWRhZQ==

Notice that the length of the SHA1 is always the same. Now we need to convert the hexadecimal string to a base64-encoded string, another online tool can be used for this example: hex to base64 converter

Base64-encoded result:

OTY4ODM2ODg3ODg3YWViYzdlZDBiMDgwMjQxZGQ5N2M4N2ZlMWRhZQ==

Now we can sign the data:

String signedData = container.sign(
                //data
                "OTY4ODM2ODg3ODg3YWViYzdlZDBiMDgwMjQxZGQ5N2M4N2ZlMWRhZQ==",
                //Digest algorithn
                DigestAlgorithm.SHA1
);

Result:

"C7SG5eix1+lzMcZXgL0bCL+rLxKhd8ngrSj6mvlgooWH7CloEU13Rj8QiQHdhHnZgAi4Q0fCMIqAc4dn9uW9OP+MRitimRpYZcaDsGrUehPi/JpOD1e+ko7xKZ67ijUU4KTmG4HXc114oJ7xxx3CGL7TNFfvuEphLbbZa+9IZSSnYDOOENJqhggqqu7paSbLJrxC2zaeMxODKb5WSexHnZH6NnLPl2OmvPTYtxiTUMrLbFRsDRAziF6/VQkgM8/xOm+1/9Expv5DSLRY8RQ+wha6/nMlJjx50JszYIj2aBQKp4AOxPVdPewVGEWF4NF9ffrPLrOA2v2d7t5M4q7yxA=="

Authentication

The T1C-GCL is able to authenticate a card holder based on a challenge. The challenge can be:

• provided by an external service
• provided by the smart card An authentication can be interpreted as a signature use case, the challenge is signed data, that can be validated in a back-end process.

Authentication algorithm references supported by the card

In order to verify which algorithm can be used for a 'sign' operation, you can call the following method:

List<DigestAlgorithm> signingAlgorithms = container.getAllAlgoRefsForAuthentication();

Example response:

["SHA1","SHA256","SHA512"]

External Challenge

Without a pinpad

An external challenge is provided in the data property of the following example:

String authenticatedData = container.authenticate(
                //data
                "I2e+u/sgy7fYgh+DWA0p2jzXQ7E=",
                //Digest algorithn
                DigestAlgorithm.SHA256,
                //Optional PIN
                "1234"
);

Response:

"W7wqvWA8m9SBALZPxN0qUCZfB1O/WLaM/silenLzSXXmeR+0nzB7hXC/Lc/fMru82m/AAqCuGTYMPKcIpQG6MtZ/SGVpZUA/71jv3D9CatmGYGZc52cpcb7cqOVT7EmhrMtwo/jyUbi/Dy5c8G05owkbgx6QxnLEuTLkfoqsW9Q="

Without a pinpad

An external challenge is provided in the data property of the following example:

String authenticatedData = container.authenticate(
                //data
                "I2e+u/sgy7fYgh+DWA0p2jzXQ7E=",
                //Digest algorithn
                DigestAlgorithm.SHA256
);

Response:

"W7wqvWA8m9SBALZPxN0qUCZfB1O/WLaM/silenLzSXXmeR+0nzB7hXC/Lc/fMru82m/AAqCuGTYMPKcIpQG6MtZ/SGVpZUA/71jv3D9CatmGYGZc52cpcb7cqOVT7EmhrMtwo/jyUbi/Dy5c8G05owkbgx6QxnLEuTLkfoqsW9Q="

The 'algorithm_reference' property can contain the following values: sha1, sha256 and sha512.

Generated Challenge

A server generated challenge can be provided to the Java library. In order to do so, an additional contract must be provided with the 'OCV API' (Open Certificate Validation API).