CCID (chip card interface device) protocol is a

USB Universal Serial Bus (USB) is an industry standard that establishes specifications for cables, connectors and protocols for connection, communication and power supply ( interfacing) between computers, peripherals and other computers. A broa ...

protocol that allows a

smartcard A smart card, chip card, or integrated circuit card (ICC or IC card) is a physical electronic authentication device, used to control access to a resource. It is typically a plastic credit card-sized card with an embedded integrated circuit (IC) c ...

to be connected to a computer via a

card reader A card reader is a data input device that reads data from a card-shaped storage medium. The first were punched card readers, which read the paper or cardboard punched cards that were used during the first several decades of the computer industry ...

using a standard USB interface, without the need for each manufacturer of smartcards to provide its own reader or protocol. This allows the smartcard to be used as a

security token A security token is a peripheral device used to gain access to an electronically restricted resource. The token is used in addition to or in place of a password. It acts like an electronic key to access something. Examples of security tokens incl ...

for authentication and data encryption, such as that used in

BitLocker BitLocker is a full volume encryption feature included with Microsoft Windows versions starting with Windows Vista. It is designed to protect data by providing encryption for entire volumes. By default, it uses the AES encryption algorithm in ...

. Chip card interface devices come in a variety of forms. The smallest CCID form is a standard USB

dongle A dongle is a small piece of computer hardware that connects to a port on another device to provide it with additional functionality, or enable a pass-through to such a device that adds functionality. In computing, the term was initially synonym ...

and may contain a

SIM card A typical SIM card (mini-SIM with micro-SIM cutout) A file:Simkarte NFC SecureElement.jpg">thumb"> thumb">A TracFone Wireless SIM card has no distinctive carrier markings and is only marked as a "SIM card" A SIM card (full form Subscriber Ide ...

Secure Digital Secure Digital, officially abbreviated as SD, is a proprietary non-volatile flash memory card format developed by the SD Association (SDA) for use in portable devices. The standard was introduced in August 1999 by joint efforts between Sa ...

card inside the USB dongle. Another popular interface is a USB smart card reader keyboard, which in addition to being a standard USB keyboard, has an built-in slot for accepting a smartcard. However, not all CCID compliant devices accept removable smartcards, for example, select

Yubikey The YubiKey is a hardware authentication device manufactured by Yubico to protect access to computers, networks, and online services that supports one-time passwords (OTP), public-key cryptography, and authentication, and the Universal 2nd Fact ...

hardware authentication devices support CCID, where they play the role of both the card reader and the smartcard itself.

Hardware implementation

According to the CCID specification by the USB standards work group, a CCID exchanges information through a host computer over USB by using a CCID message that consists of a 10-byte header followed by message-specific data. The standard defines fourteen commands that the host computer can use to send data and status and control information in messages. Every command requires at least one response message from the CCID.

Software driver

CCID driver support has been natively supported by

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational corporation, multinational technology company, technology corporation producing Software, computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at th ...

beginning with

Windows 2000 Windows 2000 is a major release of the Windows NT operating system developed by Microsoft and oriented towards businesses. It was the direct successor to Windows NT 4.0, and was released to manufacturing on December 15, 1999, and was official ...

Apple An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple trees are cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus '' Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, where its wild ances ...

has included some form of native CCID support since

Mac OS X macOS (; previously OS X and originally Mac OS X) is a Unix operating system developed and marketed by Apple Inc. since 2001. It is the primary operating system for Apple's Mac computers. Within the market of desktop and lapt ...

, with support evolving alongside

Common Access Card The Common Access Card, also commonly referred to as the CAC is a smart card about the size of a credit card. It is the standard identification for Active Duty United States Defense personnel, to include the Selected Reserve and National Guard ...

and Personal Identity Verification specifications set by the

US Federal Government The federal government of the United States (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States, a federal republic located primarily in North America, composed of 50 states, a city within a feder ...

. On

Linux Linux ( or ) is a family of open-source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991, by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged as a Linux distribution, which i ...

and other Unixes, CCID and CT-API devices are usually accessed with user-space drivers, for which no special

kernel Kernel may refer to: Computing * Kernel (operating system), the central component of most operating systems * Kernel (image processing), a matrix used for image convolution * Compute kernel, in GPGPU programming * Kernel method, in machine lea ...

adaptation is required.{{cite web, url=https://ccid.apdu.fr/, title=CCID free software driver, accessdate=June 22, 2018

List of CCID providers

Advanced Card Systems HNA Technology Investments Holdings Limited formerly known as Advanced Card Systems Holdings Limited is a Cayman Islands-incorporated offshore holding company. Its subsidiary, Advanced Card Systems Limited, was incorporated in British Hong Kon ...

* ActivIdentity * Baltech * Bit4id * Blutronics srl * Elyctis *

Gemalto Gemalto was an international digital security company providing software applications, secure personal devices such as smart cards and tokens, and managed services. It was formed in June 2006 by the merger of two companies, Axalto and Gemplu ...

Giesecke & Devrient Giesecke+Devrient, also known as (G+D), is a German company headquartered in Munich that provides banknote and securities printing, smart cards, and cash handling systems. History Founded in 1852 by Hermann Giesecke and Alphonse Devrient, the ...

HID Global HID Global is an American manufacturer of secure identity products. The company is an independent brand of Assa Abloy, a Swedish door and access control conglomerate. Björn Lidefelt was appointed CEO on 27 January 2020. He succeeded Stefan Wid ...

* JaCarta * rf IDEAS *

SafeNet SafeNet, Inc. was an information security company based in Belcamp, Maryland, United States, which was acquired in August 2014 by the French security company Gemalto. Gemalto was, in turn, acquired by Thales Group in 2019. The former SafeNet' ...

* SecuTech Solutions * SpringCard *

Verisign Verisign Inc. is an American company based in Reston, Virginia, United States that operates a diverse array of network infrastructure, including two of the Internet's thirteen root nameservers, the authoritative registry for the , , and gene ...

* Yubico * Reiner Kartenlesegeräte * DUALi

References

Computer access control Microsoft Windows security technology Smart cards