Authentication systems using ID cards over NFC links: The Spanish experience using DNIe

The personal identification in mobile scenarios has attracted a lot of attention in the last few years due to the emergence of new communications paradigms that enable the establishment of ad hoc communications. These communications must be carried out in a secure way since they can be involved in applications such as payments and access systems. Consequently, new secure systems should be proposed for managing security in such complex, mobile and variable conditions. This paper proposes a new authentication system based on the Spanish ID card and the wireless NFC (Near Field Communication) technology. It uses cryptography techniques and authentication certificates to establish secure communications between two interlocutors. The proposed network oriented architecture enables the proposed authentication system to operate in both local and remote modes.