Terms of Reference for Technical Committee Secure Element Technologies (TC SET)
Approved at Board#135
In the context of this document, the following definition applies.
Secure Element: Tamper-resistant dedicated platform, consisting of hardware and software, capable of securely hosting applications and their confidential and cryptographic data and providing a secure application execution environment, e.g. the UICC and the Smart Secure Platform (SSP).
1 Responsibilities
The main responsibilities of TC SET are: development and maintenance of specifications for Secure Elements in a multi-application capable environment, the integration into such an environment, as well as the secure provisioning of services making use of such Secure Elements.
The specifications under the responsibility of TC SET shall be generic and application-agnostic, and the work of TC SET shall cover at least the following:
- development and maintenance of application independent specifications for the Secure Element/Terminal Equipment interface of telecommunication systems;
- development and maintenance of application independent Secure Element specifications for general telecommunication purposes;
- development and maintenance of application independent Secure Element specifications for Machine-to-Machine/IoT communication purposes;
- development and maintenance of Secure Element specifications employing advanced security methods for telecommunications applications such as financial transactions over Telecommunication Networks;
- development and maintenance of interface, procedures and protocol specifications between the Secure Element and entities (remote or local) used in the management of that Secure Element. This includes interfaces, procedures and protocol specifications used between such entities for the secure provisioning and operation of services making use of that Secure Element;
- maintenance of mobile commerce specifications of the former EP M-COMM.
2 Tasks
The main tasks of TC SET are:
- maintenance of the specifications developed by the committee;
- specification of enhancements to the system to allow the addition of innovative features and functions;
- specification of generic items for Secure Elements, these include, but are not restricted to:
- interface enhancements such as new commands and improved transmission efficiency,
- application management, including download and load mechanisms,
- electrical/physical parameters and protocol issues,
- advanced security mechanisms and related protocols,
- advanced functionality for use by applications based on the system specifications;
- elaboration and maintenance of related test specifications in collaboration with the respective groups of other specification bodies.
3 Organisation
The committee meets at least four times a year in Plenary.
To facilitate a truly international participation, the Chair of TC SET is invited to exercise the Chair's rights to invite participation from companies and other Standardisation Bodies involved in related standardisation work as well as providers of applications, services and systems which may make use of the work of TC SET.
To facilitate the progression of work, Working Groups will be established and closed as required.
4 Liaisons
To facilitate its work, TC SET shall identify relevant bodies and set up a liaison to these bodies.
In addition to the formal ETSI partnerships involving TC SET, some informal liaison is handled by delegates attending international standardisation meetings and forums such as the Java Card Forum and the OMA.