JCOP Smart Card Lifecycle — GlobalPlatform Compliant

Overview

JCOP smart cards follow the GlobalPlatform specification and pass through several lifecycle states during their production and usage. Understanding these states is critical for developers, integrators, and issuers to manage applets, keys, and secure access.

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Card Lifecycle States

State Code	State Name	Description
SECURED	Secured	Default state after manufacturing; protected but not yet personalized.
INITIALIZED	Initialized	Formatted and ready for personalization.
OP_READY	Operational Ready	Personalization complete; card is ready for applet installation.
OP_SECURED	Operational Secured	Secure Channel authentication complete; card is fully manageable.
CARD_LOCKED	Card Locked	Card has been locked due to repeated authentication failures.
TERMINATED	Terminated	Card is permanently disabled and cannot be used again.

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Common Operations by State

Operation	Required Card State
Install Applets	OP_READY or OP_SECURED
Delete Applets	OP_SECURED
Modify ATR or EEPROM Parameters	SECURED, OP_READY, or OP_SECURED
Update GlobalPlatform Keys	OP_SECURED
Lock the Card	CARD_LOCKED (triggered automatically)
Terminate the Card	TERMINATED

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Lifecycle Flow (Simplified)

+------------------+
| SECURED |
+------------------+
|
v
+------------------+
| INITIALIZED |
+------------------+
|
v
+------------------+
| OP_READY |
+------------------+
|
+-------------------------+
| Secure Channel (SCP) |
+-------------------------+
|
v
+------------------+
| OP_SECURED |
+------------------+
|
v
+------------------+
| TERMINATED |
+------------------+
^
|
+------------------+
| CARD_LOCKED |
+------------------+

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Security Recommendations

• Always use SCP02 or SCP03 for authenticated administrative operations.

• Ensure cards do not remain in the INITIALIZED state in production.

• Note: The TERMINATED state is irreversible in most card operating systems.

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Conclusion

NXP JCOP cards provide flexible, secure lifecycle management fully compliant with GlobalPlatform. Their ability to allow secure post-personalization operations—such as ATR modification, applet installation, and key updates—makes them ideal for developers, testers, and secure environments across banking, telecom, identity, and access control sectors.