IRVINE, Calif. — HID Global has officially lifted the curtain on its iCLASS SIO-Enabled (SE) access control platform, which offers a portable identity model for advanced security, increased mobility and enhanced performance.
The platform enables digital keys and portable identity credentials to be carried on smartphones, microprocessor-based cards, USB tokens, computer disk drives and many other formats. It will also enable the access control industry's first Near Field Communication (NFC)-enabled mobile identity solutions that are based on open standards to support a wide array of smartcard technologies, including iCLASS, MIFARE DESFire, Indala and others, according to the company.
Originally previewed at ISC West in April, the platform aids the migration of physical access control beyond cards and readers into the realm of digital credentials and contactless solutions that support a range of additional applications such as biometric authentication, PC logon, and cashless payment, vending and transit systems. The open platform also allows users to dynamically increase security levels via simple firmware updates in order to efficiently address changing security environments.
"The use of open standards for authentication and encryption means systems can be upgraded over time. Integrators will have greater flexibility to work with vendors and users to add new features and capabilities, customize security, and add new levels of security to traditional card-and-reader systems over time," Kathleen Carroll, director of government relations for HID Global, tells SSI.
The new platform is based on the company's SIO or Secure Identity Object model. A combination of SIOs on the credential side and SIO interpreters on the reader side perform similar functions to traditional cards and readers, except they use a standards-based, technology-independent and flexible identity data structure.
Since an SIO interpreter takes care of mapping data to supported devices, all the developer or integrator has to focus on is generating and transacting [reading/writing] SIOs, Carroll says.
"The days of the vending-machine developer having to learn about intricate credential-technology sector terminology and key rules is over," she says.
SIOs also ensure data authenticity and privacy while inhibiting data cloning by binding an object to a specific credential for additional authentication and encryption on top of device-specific security. These SIO features enable the iCLASS SE platform to improve security in traditional card and reader applications while facilitating new market opportunities for carrying secure portable credentials on NFC smartphones and other devices, according to the company.
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