Java JCA/JCE programming in Android with SD smart cards

The mobile phone is currently the preferred means by which people can communicate and interact with each other at a distance. Not only that, the smart-phone nowadays constitutes the full embodiment of the truly personal device users carry constantly with them, everywhere. They are therefore the ideal means by which the user can casually and conveniently interact with information systems. It can also act as a convenient and highly practical storage place for sensitive identity information. Moreover nowadays there is a real urgent need to have in place secure, non-refutable and securely managed identities and communications, with sufficiently strong authentication mechanisms that can assure, among other important properties, strong non-repudiation. In this paper we describe how we have managed to combine the functionalities provided by OpenSC and the University of Graz IAIK java security provider to more easily port java security applications based on the desktop JCA API to the Android platform. This enables us to take advantage of the full extent of the security programming facilities provided by the java programming language on android devices equipped with smart digital (SD) based smart cards.