Personal Identity Verification (PIV) Applet covering basic functionalities

Abstract

The Personal Identity Verification (PIV) applet is a smart card application that provides basic functionalities for identity verification and authentication. The applet is designed to comply with the PIV standard based on FIPS, which is a government-wide standard for secure and reliable identity verification. The PIV applet provides a set of basic functionalities, including the generation and management of PIV key pairs, two-factor authentication using a PIV Authentication key, and digital signature verification using a Digital Signature key. The applet is implemented using Java Card technology, which provides a secure and flexible platform for developing smart card applications. The applet can be installed on a wide range of PIV-compliant smart cards, which makes it highly portable and interoperable. Some of the key features of the PIV applet include: 1) Generation and management of PIV key pairs, 2) Two-factor authentication using a PIV Authentication key, 3) Digital signature verification using a Digital Signature key Support for various cryptographic algorithms, such as RSA and ECDSA, 4) Flexible key size options to meet different security requirements, 5) Secure storage of keys and other sensitive data on the smart card, 6) Support for a range of smart card commands and protocols, including ISO/IEC 7816 and PC/SC. Overall, the PIV applet provides a basic set of functionalities for identity verification and authentication, which can be used in a wide range of applications, such as access control, secure email, and digital signature verification.