Remote access to a mass memory and a security memory in a portable communicating object

A system that enables a server to remotely access memory in a communicating object, via a communications network, comprising:

• a portable communicating object having a mass memory and a security memory;
• and
• a terminal interfacing with said portable communicating object, said terminal including:
• an agent configured to:
• (i) route data transfers between the remote server and either the mass memory or the security memory of the portable communicating object,
• (ii) set up a communication channel between the remote server and the terminal by which data is communicated via a predetermined communication protocol, and
• (iii) determine which one of the mass memory and the security memory of
• the portable communicating object, data received from the server is to be routed, based on content of said received data,
• wherein remote access to the mass memory by the server is secured through interactions between a security unit, which comprises the security memory, and the server via the agent in the terminal, prior to the transmission of data;
• after setting up the communication channel between the server and the terminal, a controller of the mass memory included in the portable communicating object transmits a request to the security unit to obtain an encryption/decryption key;
• and
• for data transmitted between the server and the mass memory, the data is encrypted by one of the server and the mass memory controller, the encrypted data is transmitted to the other of the server and the mass memory controller, and the encrypted data is decrypted by said other of the server and the mass memory controller;
• and
• wherein when the agent determines that said received data is to be routed to said mass memory, the agent is configured to:
• (a) process said received data so that the data is configured to be transmitted to the mass memory according to the first communication protocol, and
• (b) transmit said data to the mass memory according to the first communication protocol, and
• when the agent determines that said received data is to be routed to said security memory, the agent is configured to:
• (a) process said received data so that the data is configured to be transmitted to the security memory according to the second communication protocol, and
• (b) transmit said data to the security memory according to the second communication protocol.

A method for remotely accessing a mass memory and a security memory in a portable communicating object by a server via a communications network, the portable communicating object being associated with a terminal, comprising the following steps:

• providing an agent in the terminal for routing data transfers between the remote server and either the mass memory or the security memory of the portable communicating object;
• establishing a single communication channel between the remote server and the agent in the terminal by which data is communicated via a predetermined communication protocol;
• securing remote access to the mass memory by the server through interactions between a security unit, which comprises the security memory, and the server via the agent in the terminal, prior to the transmission of data;
• after setting up the communication channel between the server and the terminal, transmitting a request by a controller of the mass memory included in the portable communicating object to the security unit to obtain an encryption/decryption key;
• for data transmitted between the server and the mass memory, encrypting the data by one of the server and the mass memory controller, transmitting the encrypted data to the other of the server and the mass memory controller, and decrypting the encrypted data by said other of the server and the mass memory controller;
• receiving, at the agent, data from the mass memory of the portable communicating object via a first communication protocol and the security memory of the portable communicating object via a second communication protocol that is different from the first communication protocol;
• processing the data, independent of the memory from which the data is received, so that the received data is configured to be transmitted to the server via the predetermined protocol of the single communication channel;
• and
• transferring the processed data, via the single communication channel, to the server.