Companies Partner to Embed Secure NFC Implementation In SanDisk TrustedFlash Memory Cards For Maximum Security In Mobile Applications
SUNNYVALE, CA, May 3, 2006 – SanDisk® Corporation (NASDAQ:SNDK) today announced it is working with Philips to embed its SmartMX chip into SanDisk TrustedFlash™ cards for secure Near Field Communication-enabled (NFC) mobile phone applications. NFC is an easy-to-use, short-range wireless technology that will allow consumers to use their phones as bus or train tickets and perform secure “contactless” payments and other contactless transactions by simply waving their phones near a contactless reader in a mass transit turnstile, checkout counters or drive-thru windows.
SanDisk TrustedFlash cards with SmartMX technology are a fast and cost-effective way for handset manufacturers, mobile operators, banks and transit authorities to quickly and securely deploy their contactless applications to mobile phones with NFC capabilities.
To help lower the cost of handsets and minimize the impact of security certification for handset manufacturers, consumers can purchase TrustedFlash cards in the retail aftermarket and use them to store their valuable personal content such as photos, music and data. The TrustedFlash platform ensures that service providers have a proven level of security for applications tied to the flash card rather than the phone or network service.
For greater flexibility, SanDisk TrustedFlash cards with SmartMX support pre-loaded and post-issuance models. This permits flexible application deployment policies and business models allowing mobile carriers to retain full control over application provisioning or share it with service providers or trusted third parties.
For the millions of existing handsets in the market that are not NFC-enabled, SanDisk and Wireless Dynamics are partnering to offer NFC SDiD™ Adapters, plug-and-play SD™ and miniSD™ NFC adapters integrating SanDisk TrustedFlash cards with SmartMX. Once inserted into the mobile phone, the NFC SDiD Adapter allows users to interact with contactless devices and perform secure NFC transactions. They can also use the TrustedFlash card to provide storage for their personal content and applications.
TrustedFlash as a Secure Element for NFC handsets and NFC Adapter
“Security of transactions conducted using NFC is paramount to consumer acceptance and market adoption of this easy-to-use technology,” said David Holmes, NFC Business Development Manager at Philips. “We believe this will provide the comfort factor that can spur the widespread adoption of NFC, enabling consumers to connect to each other and to entertainment, information and services wherever they are. It will revolutionize the way consumers use their mobile phones as they adopt a truly mobile lifestyle.”
“With the SanDisk Trusted Flash/SmartMX cards and the plug & play NFC adapters, consumers can easily add mobile payment and ticketing functions to their mobile phones,” said Ambrose Tam, Chief Executive Officer of Wireless Dynamics Inc. “We are pleased to work with the leaders of NFC and flash data storage cards to offer simple add-on solutions to speed up the adoption of NFC and mobile payment.”
Farshid Sabet, Senior Director of Mobile Content and Security Solutions at SanDisk, said, “Today, consumers purchase SanDisk flash cards to expand their mobile phone storage capabilities for pictures, music and videos, and, thanks to TrustedFlash technology, they can enjoy premium content such as music and movies. Tomorrow, they will also use TrustedFlash cards with SmartMX technology to expand the phone’s security capabilities and host a variety of NFC applications to purchase tickets, buy a cup of coffee and make other small purchases.”
TrustedFlash cards with SmartMX technology for NFC transactions are available to OEM customers in the microSD™ card format. SanDisk has started pilot programs and expects broader commercial rollout in 2007.