MULTOS

Multos, often styled MULTOS, is a secure operating system designed for smart cards and secure elements that enables multiple applications to run on a single card while preserving strong isolation and security. It emerged in the 1990s from a consortium of card manufacturers and security companies and is now managed by Multos International Ltd and partner vendors. The name reflects its core capability to support multi-application environments.

Architecture and security: MULTOS employs a microkernel architecture and a formalized security model to separate applications from one another and from the card’s hardware. Each application runs in a protected execution environment with controlled access to runtime services. The platform provides cryptographic services, key management, secure loading of applications, and a card manager that enforces access control and lifecycle management.

Applications and use cases: The OS is designed for environments with stringent security requirements such as banking cards, identity and access credentials, SIM cards, transit passes, and government identification. By hosting multiple applications on a single card, MULTOS can reduce card production costs and issuance complexity while maintaining high levels of isolation between apps.

Standards and ecosystem: MULTOS supports ISO 7816 interfaces and typically operates with issuer-defined applet lifecycles and a bespoke management framework. It competes with other multi-application smart card environments and interoperates with security certifications such as Common Criteria.

Current status: MULTOS remains in use in various secure element deployments and legacy smart card programs, though the broader market has seen growing adoption of Java Card and GlobalPlatform-based solutions. It continues to be supported by a network of hardware vendors and certification bodies.