USB key form-factor smart-card readers with pinpads?

Sam Kuper sam.kuper at uclmail.net
Sun Jan 5 05:02:57 CET 2014


Dear GnuPG users,

I am new to this list, so please be gentle.

At some point in the coming months, I may try to obtain an OpenPGP
smart card and reader.

At the moment, such combinations, whether separable or combined into a
single device, seem to be available in two form factors, neither of
which is ideal:

1. USB-key sized devices, e.g.: Crypto Stick; Yubikey NEO;
conventional USB stick-sized readers (e.g. Omnikey 6121) + ID-000
(SIM) sized OpenPGP card.

2. Full-size (ID-1) card + reader.

In group 1 above, none of the devices I have found online offer secure
PIN entry.

In group 2 above, the smallest reader I have found online which offers
secure PIN entry is the ACR83.

My question to you is: does anyone manufacture a smart card reader
compatible with the OpenPGP card (or containing an implementation of
one) that offers secure PIN entry AND is (nearly) as compact as the
CryptoStick, NEO, etc? Bonus points if it is also waterproof,
tamper-evident, etc.

(I am imagining that such a device would physically resemble a
datAshur[1], LOK-IT[2], Flash Padlock 2[3] or similar, but perhaps
with an ID-000 card slot inside. If such a device doesn't yet exist,
then given the success of the CryptoStick and Yubikey NEO, I suspect
there would be a market for such a device; perhaps crowd-funded via
Indiegogo, Kickstarter, etc.)

Many thanks in advance for your assistance,

Sam

[1] http://www.istorage-uk.com/datashur.php
[2] http://www.lok-it.net/
[3] http://www.corsair.com/en/usb-drive/flash-padlock-2-usb-drive.html



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