TCS' next gen smart cards to hit market soon

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is coming out with the next-generation smart cards at an initial design cost of $1 million. Designed by the company's team in Hyderabad and Bangalore, the cryptographic cards are likely to hit the market within the next 6-9 months.

The cards will not only be used for enabling access to a physical location but will also have digital certificates to facilitate e-commerce transactions like availing of housing loans.

This apart, they will also ensure greater security in terms of not being vulnerable to differential power analysis. TCS has already started using the cards for internal needs for its 40,000-odd employees.

Speaking on the sidelines of a press conference, M Vidyasagar, executive vice-president (advanced technology), TCS, said, "The smart cards are being manufactured in Taiwan and we have shortlisted an Indian vendor for the distribution purposes to the retail market."

The company started designing the algorithm for the card almost three years back.

TCS has also entered into a strategic arrangement with the ICICI Bank for digital certificate issuance, enabling the bank to become a sub-certifying authority in this regard.

Apart from complete deployment and customisation of the offering for the ICICI Bank, TCS will also train the bank employees on public key infrastructure (PKI) technology.

"For issuance of digital certificates, we see a huge opportunity in broadband network. Besides, the Department of Company Affairs has also decided to facilitate communication to all companies registered with it through their portal. So there is again a good opportunity for us in this regard too," Vidyasagar said. The market for integrated security services is slated to be around $8-10 billion and is growing at a fast clip of around 20 per cent.

TCS is one among the six certifying authorities in India and has 38 clients for digital certificates. Some of these include the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) and UTI Bank.

The company has issued 50,000 digital certificates till date out of which 40,000 are for its own employees on their existing smart cards.