What are virtual smart cards?
Virtual smart cards (VSC) use PKI-based identities in a secure environment on laptops, to let users get rid of passwords and use strong authentication, signing and encryption in a smooth way. They work as physical smart cards, but without the need to issue and manage plastic cards or other hardware tokens.
With VSCs, you get an intuitive and user-friendly two-factor authentication (2FA) method. They are also an economical choice, since they take advantage of existing technology available on many laptops, which means that you do not have to issue and manage hardware tokens, smart cards or smart card readers.
Virtual smart cards are included in Smart ID Digital ID management, with automated lifecycle management and self-service workflows.
How does it work?
VSCs are hosted on your laptop and have the same level of security as a physical smart card. Keys are securely created and stored on the Trusted Platform Module (TPM) chip, which is available on most laptops.
Nexus' Smart ID Desktop App lets you provision and manage cards, based on Microsoft Virtual Smart Card (VSC) and Universal Windows Platform (UWP) technology. The solution uses native Microsoft mini-driver for communication with the VSC.
The Smart ID Desktop App is used together with a messaging backend to manage the online authentication and signing services.
Use cases
- Windows login
- Secure access to digital resources
- Two-factor authentication
- Signing documents and emails
- Email encryption
Why Nexus
The main advantages of virtual smart cards from Nexus are:
Cut down costs
Help cut down costs and administration by taking advantage of existing technology on users’ laptops and not demanding any other hardware tokens or smart cards.
Easy to use
Are easy to use - simply install the app and activate it to get started.
High security
Let you skip the passwords and use strong authentication in a smooth way.