Universal “Chip Based Smart Card” Snooping device

Abstract

The paper discusses the design, construction and test of a Universal “Chip Based Smart Card” Snooping Device. This device would function by displaying the actual data communication between the smart card and the smart card reader. The development and design of the snooping device requires that the communication protocols between the smart card and smart card reader be understood and displayed. This snooping device would display all data communications that occur between the smart card and the smart card reader that follow the ISO 7816-3 protocol. The proliferation and application of smart cards in the real world can be furthered by the application of this device. This device would be able to show the actual data communication between the smart card and the smart card reader. The hardware design of the device has been divided into 3 main sections, the snooping module, the communication module and the processing module. The snooping module taps the data being transmitted between the smart card reader and the smart card, the communication module formats, encodes and transfers the data to the processing module, and lastly the processing module that translates the transferred data into the appropriate form and display the data on screen.