UICC
Definition
Universal Integrated Circuit Card. The physical hardware platform for modern SIM cards. A UICC can host multiple card applications simultaneously: a SIM application for 2G compatibility, a USIM application for 3G and 4G, and others. Forensic acquisition must select and read each application's file system separately.
- Full name
- Universal Integrated Circuit Card
- Role
- Physical hardware platform for modern SIM cards
- Applications hosted
- SIM (2G), USIM (3G/4G), and others simultaneously
- Forensic implication
- Each application's file system read separately
Common questions
Why can't a single acquisition pass read everything on a UICC?+
Because the UICC hosts multiple distinct card applications with their own file systems and access rules, forensic tools must select and interrogate each application individually to recover all the stored data rather than treating the card as one flat storage device.
What data commonly differs between the SIM and USIM applications on the same UICC?+
The legacy SIM application typically holds older 2G-era files while the USIM application stores expanded contact, network, and service data used by 3G and 4G networks, so examining only one application can miss records the other retains.
Related terms
- APDU
- Application Protocol Data Unit. The command and response message format used to communicate with a smart card over the ISO 7816 interface....
- EF_SMS
- Elementary File for Short Message Service. A fixed-size record file on the SIM that stores SMS messages. Each record has a status...
- ICCID
- Integrated Circuit Card Identifier. The serial number of the physical SIM card itself, stored in EF_ICCID. It identifies the card as a...
- IMSI
- International Mobile Subscriber Identity. A 15-digit number stored in EF_IMSI on the SIM that uniquely identifies the subscriber account on the mobile...
- LOCI
- Location Information file (EF_LOCI on SIM, EF_LOCI and EF_EPSLOCI on USIM). Stores the Location Area Identity (LAI) last received from the network...