Here is the presented data:
Liechtenstein has become the first country to implement the Supplemental Access Control (SAC) standard for its electronic passports, enhancing the security of its citizens' travel documents. Despite not being a member of the European Union, Liechtenstein has chosen to adopt the EU's mandatory security standard ahead of schedule, making its passports some of the most modern in the world.
The move to SAC involves a significant shift from conventional symmetric encryption to asymmetric encryption for accessing the chip in the passports. This change provides better protection for the sensitive data stored in the chip, even with a short access number like the new 6-digit Card Access Number (CAN) printed on the passport.
The SAC standard includes the Password Authenticated Connection Establishment (PACE) protocol, which offers stronger cryptographic key establishment between the passport chip and the reader. This improves resistance to skimming, eavesdropping, and man-in-the-middle attacks, enhancing data confidentiality and integrity.
Claudia Schwendimann, CEO of OeSD International GmbH, is the project leader for the SAC implementation in Liechtenstein. According to Schwendimann, the transition to the new security standard was completed in August 2014.
Manual input is significantly facilitated with the 6-digit CAN compared to the Machine Readable Zone (MRZ). The use of mobile passport readers in the future will follow the SAC-after-CAN method.
The SAC standard offers enhanced security for accessing electronic data in passport chips compared to the Basic Access Control (BAC) standard, which is an older security protocol with limitations in terms of protection against skimming, eavesdropping, and cloning.
By adopting SAC, Liechtenstein has taken a proactive step towards ensuring the security of its citizens' travel documents, setting a high bar for other countries to follow. The country's early adoption of this advanced security standard demonstrates its commitment to protecting its citizens and maintaining the integrity of its passports.
For more detailed information about the local implementation status or technical specifications of the SAC standard in Liechtenstein, further specialized sources or official government releases would be necessary.
Technology plays a crucial role in the enhanced security of Liechtenstein's electronic passports, as the Supplemental Access Control (SAC) standard replaces the Basic Access Control (BAC) standard, offering improved resistance to skimming, eavesdropping, and man-in-the-middle attacks. Moreover, the transition to the SAC standard involves the use of asymmetric encryption for accessing the chip in the passports, providing better protection for the sensitive data stored in the chip.
