CCC Companies Building Standardized NFC Car Access

The Car Connectivity Consortium (CCC)—a group focused on advancing phone-to-car connectivity—recently began offering NFC certification to standardize the technology as part of the group’s vehicle connectivity solutions. By including NFC, its members are now testing and certifying their NFC implementation to meet the universally interoperable and secure CCC Digital Key standard.

That CCC certification inclusion accelerates and standardizes efforts to build NFC solutions for phone-to-car access. NFC is a short range 13.56 MHz RF technology complying with ISO 14443, which is built into smart phones and commonly used for payments. Companies are also employing the technology for applications such as brand recognition, authentication and enabling drivers to unlock their car door with their phone.

The CCC Digital Key is an ecosystem that allows mobile devices to store, authenticate and share the unique ID of a vehicle for secure access. The inclusion of NFC for certification was first announced in December 2023, and companies have since been building solutions based on the certification.

A variety of technologies are being used as wireless, phone access methods for vehicles: Bluetooth or Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), ultra-wide band (UWB) and NFC. Each of the technologies comes with its own attributes, benefits or shortcomings based on the application.

Among the technologies being used for car access and connectivity, NFC is unique due to its limited transmission range, requiring users to be within centimeters of their vehicle to tap to unlock.

This relatively short range can deter many keyless proximity attacks, as an attacker is unlikely be close enough within range to intercept an NFC signal transmitted from a smart device to a vehicle, said Ian Televik, CCC’s marketing director.

That means auto manufacturers and original equipment manufacturers have an interest in NFC-based access or have made NFC one of the options for their access technology. Those developing such NFC based solutions can now gain CCC Digital Key Certification to signal to users that their NFC implementation is secure while enabling a consistent user experience based on universal interoperability.