Access Control

Exploring trends in mobile access

by Mark Rowe

In this Q&A we look at the current and future trends in mobile access control, with Spencer Marshall, Regional Sales Manager Northern Europe, at the access control and identity product manufacturer HID Global.

1)How do you define mobile access?

Spencer Marshall: At HID Global we define mobile access as the use of smartphones/smart devices as digital keys that are anticipated to gradually replace mechanical keys and physical cards as part of a centralised access and identity management system that can adapt to evolving threats and business requirements. We expect that it will improve the user experience. The introduction of innovative capabilities such as ‘twist and go’ gestures for opening doors and gates is likely in the near future. However, secure identity technologies enable organisations to use a combination of smart cards and other smart devices in a growing ecosystem of interoperable products and applications.

2)Could you then tell us more about today’s access control platforms?

Spencer Marshall: Increasingly, we are witnessing that today’s access control platforms are capable of delivering more sophisticated credentials and new credential form factors including mobile devices. Typically, they also support open standards so organisations can evolve beyond current capabilities, add features, and adapt to changing security threats. With the correct foundation and planning, organisations can solve today’s challenges, prepare for new capabilities such as mobile access control and add a variety of new applications as required. They can pave the way for integrated, multi-layered physical access control (PACS) and IT security solutions that cover all of the organisation’s networks, systems and facilities.

3)In your opinion what are the trends for mobile access adoption?

Spencer Marshall: We anticipate that within the next five years, users will be carrying multiple secure identities on a single card or phone that can replace all previous mechanical keys and dedicated one-time password (OTP) hardware for physical and logical access control. This card or device will be part of an access control ecosystem that provides a seamless user experience and can flexibly scale and adapt while delivering growing value to the organisation.

4)What about your recently launched HID Mobile Access solution? Could you elaborate on this?

Spencer Marshall: Sure. HID Global’s recently launched mobile access solution merges security and convenience at the door by turning smartphones and other mobile devices into trusted, easy-to-use credentials that can replace keys and smart cards. Our bundled HID Mobile Access solution is powered by our award winning Seos technology that enables customers to use multiple applications and technologies on smart cards, smartphones and other mobile devices. Seos technology also preserves privacy by enabling Mobile IDs to be issued, delivered and revoked with end-to-end encryption as part of a unique transaction that protects personal identification data. With Seos technology at the core of HID Mobile Access, the solution makes it possible to use smartphones and other smart devices for future applications such as PC login, time and attendance, biometrics, EV charging in a unified secure identity system.

5)From your perspective how will mobile access be adopted?

Spencer Marshall: Smartphones are expected to become an integral part of the ecosystem for the creation, management and use of secure identities. For example, in some scenarios, phones will replace cards, but in many others they will supplement cards to enable a more secure and user-friendly experience. The use of smartphones to receive digital credentials and “present” them to readers will co-exist with existing capabilities to generate one-time passwords for accessing network or cloud-and web-based applications. Users will simply take the same card or phone they use for building access and use it with a personal tablet or laptop to authenticate to a VPN, wireless network, corporate intranet, cloud- and web-based applications, single-sign-on (SSO) clients and other IT resources. Within this environment, strong authentication will continue to grow in importance in the face of a rapidly changing IT security threat environment and will also move to the door. There will also be increasing use of other authentication factors including biometrics.

6)How does this fit into the broader eco-system?

Spencer Marshall: The latest secure identity technologies enable organisations to use smart cards and other smart devices in a growing ecosystem of interoperable products and applications. Within the next five years, our customers will be able to use these cards and phones as a replacement for all previous mechanical keys, physical access cards and dedicated OTP logical access authentication hardware, as part of an extremely flexible, centralised access and identity management system that can adapt to evolving threats and requirements, improve the user experience, and deliver steadily growing value over time.

Visit www.hidglobal.com.

Related News

Newsletter

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter to stay on top of security news and events.

© 2024 Professional Security Magazine. All rights reserved.

Website by MSEC Marketing