Elatec GmbH
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10. Mifare® PLUS
10.1 Security Levels
Mifare® PLUS supports four security levels. The initial delivery configuration is SL0. Within this level,
cards must be personalized. After that, the card is switched to a higher security level. Once a card has
been switched to a higher level, it cannot be switched back to a lower level. Depending on card type,
different ways of switching are possible:
SL0
SL1
SL2
SL3
S
, X
X
S
, X
X
L3
SL0:
Initial delivery configuration. Only commands „Select‟, „Write Personalization Data‟ and
„Commit Personalization‟ work. Depending on transponder type, the „Commit Personalization‟
command switches the card either to SL1 or SL3.
SL1:
Mifare® Classic compatibility mode. The transponder behaves like a Mifare® Classic 2K/4K
card. If the transponder is a Mifare® PLUS X card, it can be switched to SL2 or directly to SL3,
otherwise only SL3 is possible.
SL2:
AES authentication required, Crypto1 session key is generated, communication is furthermore
secured by Crypto1.
SL3:
Authentication and MACing based on AES. If the transponder is a Mifare® PLUS X card, the
entire communication between reader and transponder is secured by AES cryptography,
Mifare® PLUS S uses plain communication.
