Internet smartcard benefits for Internet security issues

This paper suggests using smartcards as Internet nodes, including HTTP servers and client protocols. Because XML is the emerging standard for data syntax, we propose to describe smartcards, cryptographic resources by DTDs, and to access these objects through URLs or XML messages. We underline that according to their computing capacities, smartcards could support classical remote procedure call paradigms (using CGI like mechanisms) or implement trusted proxies performing authentication operations and computing session keys. These components could realise authentication, authorisation and accounting features needed in the next Internet generation. As an illustration we present our work for EAP support in smartcards, the protocol specified by the IEEE forum, for authentication over wired and wireless (802.11) networks.