The aimed architecture:

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(We are studying a parallel Windows PE based architecture)

Definition:

A livetoken is a USB key with built-in Smart Card technologies and Flash memory large enough to contain a bootable "live" operating system . This portable system should be able to take profit of Smart Card security features to complete secured encryption and strong two factors authentication (Smart Card & PIN Code).The Smart Card can be built-in (already present in the closed token) or inserted in a SIM slot.

This system should be able to protect users' privacy and identity.

We need information, information, information... :

Some modified Debian live distribution will be soon (Q1 2009) available for download BUT...

...our primary goal is NOT to make another Linux Distribution (The Debian Live CD will use official/standard packages Debian repository) but to provide clear documentation and HOWTOs for standard well known Linux live distributions like Debian, Mandriva or Fedora to take advantage of Smart Card security features. If you want to extend the project to other Linux or BSD distributions, you are welcome.

A quick note on Microsoft Windows : Supporting non-live capable and closed source systems is not our priority even if tests will probably be made through virtualization.

Windows has some kind of partial live support through Windows PE. An experimental first attempt to use Windows PE for a Windows based LiveToken should be made very soon.

Token / Smart Card requirements:

We are focusing on Java Card based Smart Cards (NXP JCOP or Trusted Logic jTOP) support through the MuscleCard Applet (PKCS#11).
(The alternative Coolkey project could be used too).

With an open Java Card OS, users should still have the opportunity to add other Java Card applets and even developp their own ones. 

All-in-on tokens are still rare:

Today, there are still very few USB tokens with built-in "Java Card OS / Smart Card" AND large High Speed Flash memory so our first experiments could be made with two separate USB products: One "Java Card OS / Smart Card" USB CCID reader and a high speed flash memory key.

In the future, we hope all-in-one products with both features will be available on the market.

Not so evil:

TPM (Trusted Platform Module) and Smart Cards are often considered as evil technologies in the open source community because some companies tried to use them in the past for DRM solutions (and even windows only compatible ones). We do not think all trusted computing principles should be dropped and forgotten just for those deprecated mistakes (Hopefully, most of all DRM solutions turned into major failures). We aren't planning anything about DRM, automatic users' spying or whatever...

We appreciate privacy and openness as much as security.