Smart Card
A tamper-resistant card holding cryptographic credentials, used with a reader for authentication.
A smart card stores cryptographic credentials in a tamper-resistant chip and is used with a reader, so the private key never leaves the card. Paired with a PIN it delivers true MFA — “something you have” (the card) plus “something you know” (the PIN). It’s standard in government (CAC, PIV) and high-assurance enterprises, and is inherently phishing-resistant because the key can’t be copied off the card.
Advertisement