CIRCUIT CARD DATA PROTECTION
The present invention provides for a method data of achieving protection in a circuit card such as a UICC arranged for storage of a plurality of data elements and providing protection on the basis of a domain protection-element serving to define operations that can be permitted on a data element, and on the basis of a password protection-element serving to control access to a data element and wherein at least one of the plurality of data elements is associated with both a domain protection-element and a password-protection element, and the invention further provides for a circuit card arranged for the secure storage of such data elements and for a ME arranged to employ such a circuit card.
1 . A method of data protection in a circuit card arranged for storage of a plurality of data elements comprising:
providing protection on the basis of one of a domain protection-element serving to define operations that can be permitted on a data element and a password protection-element serving to control access to a data element,
wherein at least one of the said plurality of data elements is associated with both the domain protection-element and the password-protection element.
2 . The method of data protection according to claim 1 , wherein, for the said at least one data element, a password is required to initiate the operation permitted, and the operation is defined by the domain protection-element.
3 . The method of data protection according to claim 1 , further comprising using a PIN code access to one or more applications of the circuit card.
4 . The method of data protection according to claim 1 , wherein each of said plurality of data elements is associated with the domain protection-element.
5 . The method of data protection according to claim 1 , wherein permitted operations defined by the domain protection-element comprise one or more of read and/or write access operations.
6 . The method of data protection according to claim 1 , wherein an entity that is capable of accessing data in the circuit card is associated with a unique identifier.
7 . The method of data protection according to claim 6 , further comprising storing the identifier of the entity creating the data element.
8 . The method of data protection according to claim 6 , wherein the circuit card is arranged to store the identifier of the entity of the data element.
9 . The method of data protection according to claim 6 , within an ME, identifying an entity requiring access to the said data.
10 . The method of data protection according to claim 1 , wherein the data protection is applied over a USB interface class when the USB interface is activated between the ME and the circuit card.
11 . The method of data protection according to claim 1 , comprising storing the data element on the circuit card in accordance with a standard file format file system.
12 . The method of data protection according to claim 1 , wherein creation and management of the data elements within the circuit card is controlled by way of the ME.
13 . The method of data protection according to claim 1 , wherein ME circuit-card interface functions are defined as including one or more of a creation function, read function, update function, rename function, move function, delete function and cleaning function.
14 . The method of data protection according to claim 1 , wherein the circuit card comprises a UICC.
15 . A circuit card arranged for storing a plurality of protectable data elements comprising:
at least one of the said plurality of protectable data elements that are arranged to be associated with both a domain protection-element serving to define operations that can be permitted on the data element and a password protection-element that serves to control access to the data element.
16 . The circuit card according to claim 15 , wherein a password is required to initiate the operation permitted by the domain protection-element.
17 . The circuit card according to claim 15 , wherein each of the plurality of data elements is associated with the domain protection-element.
18 . The circuit card according to claim 15 , wherein the circuit card is arranged to allow access to the said data elements by way of a USB interface class.
19 . The circuit card according to claim 15 further comprising a UICC.
20 . The circuit card according to claim 15 , wherein, the circuit card is configured as a USB mass storage device and arranged for connection to a remote device, and wherein data elements not associated with the password protection-element are accessible at the remote device, and data elements associated with the password protection-element are inaccessible at the remote device if this device does not support a password verification mechanism.
21 . A mobile radio communications device arranged for operating with a circuit card as defined in claim 15 .
22 . The mobile radio communications device according to claim 21 , wherein the mobile radio communications device is arranged to communicate with the circuit card by way of a USB interface class.
23 . The mobile radio communications device according to claim 21 , wherein the mobile radio communications device is arranged to create and/or manage the said stored data elements.