Smartcard Hints and Information

• Generating and loading subkeys from an offline computer (specifically, for the YubiKey NEO, but recipe can be easily adapted for any smartcard)
• CardReader/PinpadInput
• CardReader/GemaltoPC
• List of smartcard readers and tokens supported by the GnuPG's in-stock CCID driver.
• OpenPGP Card
• How to use the Fellowship Smartcard
• OpenPGPcardECC

Smartcards?

GnuPG supports the use of hardware security tokens that come as smartcards. The smartcards are minicomputers that can hold the secret key material and perform crypto operations. Because you need to connect the physical "token" to your machine, the secret key material is well protected against attacks that try to steal it.

Smartcards have to be compatible with GnuPG. Cards exist to either run OpenPGP or x509/CMS operations.

In order to try this, see the howto links above, you may need to acquire a smartcard and a reader or an integrated combination of both.

Use an existing Card

Before you can use your existing card, your should import the public key associated with the private key on the card.

Know problem of Yubikey

• Use Yubikey, then, suspend/resume, Yubikey requires RESET.
• You need to plug off Yubikey to plug-in again.
• The error recovery will be implemented in GnupG 2.2.6, so that re-plug action will not be required.
• Still, user interaction which causes an error is required to detect the event, then, scdaemon does reconnect.

Known Bug(s) of OpenPGPcard

• Encrypted message with 3DES can't be decrypted with OpenPGP Card (V2.1, V3.3 without fix)
  • Due to the bug, it results: Missing item in object <SCD>
  • See: https://dev.gnupg.org/T3576