OS X El Capitan: About smart cards
Smart cards, such as U.S. Department of Defense Common Access Cards and the U.S. Personal Identity Verification (PIV) Cards, are access-control devices. You use a smart card to physically authenticate yourself in situations like these:
-
Client-side authentication to PK-enabled websites (HTTPS)
-
Remote access (VPN: L2TP/PPTP)
-
Port-based Network Access Control (802.1X)
-
Unlocking keychains (/usr/sbin/systemkeychain)
You must obtain the driver (Tokend) installer necessary to support the type of smart card in use from one of several open source or commercial third-party providers. For more information on tokend installers, smart cards, and smart card software updates, or for discussion and support, see the SmartCard Services project on the Mac OS Forge website.