Hands-Free
Upgrade of Access Control System
Access
control systems also let employers restrict the locations each employee
can enter, setting levels of security to balance their workers' safety and
convenience. When an employee leaves the company, their credentials can
simply be deactivated to prevent them from gaining unauthorized access. With
access control security, you know who enters your business, when they enter and
what door they use. These systems also include analytics that allow
you to track where your employees are. In addition, they allow
you to section off rooms or areas to authorized employees and receive
reports of suspicious activity, such as if someone tries to enter an area
where they don't belong.
Social
Distancing is the new norm of life and need to be practiced across the daily
paths. While the governing authorities work for developing solutions to take
care of human life, it is essential for various establishments to work out
their own precautionary measurements to create safe and risk-free environment.
Wireless access control systems are fast and easy to install. They save time
and money for sites that have hard-to-wire buildings, remote gates and elevator
applications. Addressing COVID-19 Concerns by Upgrading Existing or Non-Existing
Access Control System to Hands-Free Wireless access control with non-Chinese
factory product.
Several
companies have entered the mobile access card market, but they have not set up
a meaningful product solution stream until 2019. In 2020, forecasts show that
the mobile access card market will grow far more rapidly. Reviewing new entries
into the market allows identification of the latest products that provide
improving solutions to compatibility and speed problems.
How long before your phone replaces your access
credentials at work? Mobile devices are everywhere. Number of mobile phone
users alone was forecast to reach over 4.7 billion this year, with
more than 60% of the world’s population already owning a mobile phone.
Smartphones have already begun to replace traditional lock-and-key setups in
the home, and with the business world continuing to move in a more smartphone
focused direction, a world where you tap your phone to gain access to your
office probably isn’t too far off. The technology already exists, but
implementation is not without its hurdles. While generally outweighed by the
benefits, there are several potential challenges when it comes to using your Smartphone
as a credential. Smartphone have become ubiquitous, but cards and FOBs are
still cheaper to produce. Even though users are likely to have their phone on
them constantly, access badges usually include a picture and are always meant
to be visible. Still, as the technology improves, it’s likely that Smartphone
verification is going to become more prevalent. One application that we’re
seeing growth in is for mobile-enabled workforces to use smartphones and mobile
devices as keys to gain access to secured buildings, rooms and areas. As this
trend becomes more commonplace, it’s worth weighing the pros and cons.
Mobile Benefits
Firstly, let’s look at the benefit of using your smart
phone as access credentials for your building.
- · Smartphones are more
secure than traditional access cards or FOBs. With the introduction of
biometrics in modern smart phones (fingerprint sensors and face ID), even
though someone might be able to get their hands on someone else’s phone, it’s
no guarantee that they’ll be able to unlock it.
- · Smartphone-based
credentials are very difficult to clone.
- · Smartphone-based
implementations can reduce installation costs by leveraging an asset that
everyone is already carrying around with them.
- · Smartphone credentials
are capable of much more than traditional card-based systems. Smart phones are
capable of Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA), location awareness, mass
notifications, and revocation can be done remotely.
- · HR should be thrilled
with a smartphone app-based access control system, as much less time will be
needed to set up and issue credentials than issuing new keys and cards or
replacing them.
Finally, if you choose a provider who has created a
secure app with credential storage in a secure cloud or location other than the
phone, the security is even greater. Biometrics (the use of fingerprints) can
even be used to access the key, since smartphones now include that
capability.
Essentially, even if someone did manage to steal the phone and crack the pin to
open it, they would still need the proper information (or fingertips) to open
up the app and access the key.
A strong app will also have deep levels of encryption that will prevent the
Bluetooth signal from simply being copied and replayed to open the lock.
Potential Challenges
Of course, as new technology emerges, there will be pushback.
This isn’t a bad thing as it forces developers to overcome roadblocks to make
systems as secure as possible. The difficulty comes from separating valid
objections from merely an aversion to change. Going forward, the biggest issues
with mobile credentials are:
·
Physical return of credentials. When
someone parts ways with an employer, a physical access card or FOB would be
collected. With a smart phone-based system (especially in a case where
employees are bringing their own devices) this is obviously problematic. You
can’t ask an employee to turn in their. The only solution to this problem is to
ensure that your protocol for remotely disabling credentials is foolproof. If
it is, this issue becomes a benefit, as you can revoke credentials at any time.
Forgetting to have a card turned in or encountering any resistance from an
employee is no longer a factor.
· Lack of a picture ID. With many physical
access cards, a photo of the employee will be added as a second form visual
verification. These cards are often clipped to an employee’s shirt or belt
making it visible at all times and allowing people to identify them
immediately. Phones are generally kept in pockets and would only be brought out
at an access point. This issue’s importance will vary based on your business’
level of sensitivity when it comes to your assets or people. Additionally, all
modern access control systems allow for a head shot to appear when credentials
are presented to a reader. If a picture has been taken of the employee, and
someone is present to identify them, they can verify that the person who
presented the card or phone is the proper individual. It’s even possible to
speak with the person in video which will allow for facial recognition with
CCTV integration with the access control software.
One reason for the high expected growth for usage of
smartphones as digital access control keys is that mobile technology is already
widely used for identification, authentication, authorization and
accountability in computer information systems. Another reason is that using
mobile devices as keys aligns perfectly with the mobile-first preferences of
today’s workforces. Using mobile devices as keys not only delivers a convenient
user-experience. It also helps boost operational efficiency and satisfaction of
today’s mobile-enabled workforces. As important, it represents a more
cost-effective, simpler way for companies to manage identification credentials
as it eliminates numerous manual tasks related to handling, printing,
distributing and disposing of physical identity badges.
When all is said and done, one of the biggest benefits
that those who choose to implement mobile credentials will see is lower
installation costs. The SIA points out that “A smartphone credential adds
significant functionality over a traditional credential and is always
upgradeable to add new capabilities – all for the same cost, or less…Also,
users do not require a reader to enter a door, so enterprises can eliminate
readers on most doors to keep the entrance looking clean and to reduce
installation costs.” When you couple this with the other benefits of mobile
credentials, it becomes clear that this will more than likely become the
preferred method of access control for most workplaces in the near future.
ASSA
ABLOY, Suprema being a pioneer in multiple doors opening and access controlling
technology, provides such critical solutions suitable for wide segments of
commercial spaces. With easy and safe access for authorized personal, without compromising
on the security needs of the organizations, the contactless access readers and
exit switches for sliding and swinging door operators.
Aperio is first Wireless Online Access Control
technology that enables mechanical locks to be wirelessly linked to an existing
access control system. In terms of formats, three common methods of mobile
credentials are used in access:
- BLE
(Bluetooth Low Energy)
- NFC
(Near Field Communication)
- App
Based Credentials
‘Mobile
access cards’ is one of the terminologies that everyone has been talking about.
RF cards used for access security are being integrated into smartphones just as
digital cameras and MP3s were in the past. While people might forget their
access cards at home in the morning, they seldom forget their smartphones.
Using smartphones for access control increases entry access reliability and
convenience.
Structurally
which method is used makes a big difference for overall mobile access
performance. In general, access manufacturer data sheets will detail which/how
many methods are available with their product, with each method having
different limitations and benefits.
The
breakdown below shows the major differences between types:
For
example, notice the difference in Range between the three formats. While NFC
range is short (typically less than 9 inches), the range for BLE is longer at
~150 feet, while App systems essentially have ranges only limited by Wi-Fi and
cellular connectivity.
In
other cases, which method is used impacts reliability too. For example, with
HID Mobile, using BLE is less reliable for connecting to the reader than NFC,
and because different phone types may limit which method is options used,
overall user experience is often determined by which mobile access method they
use.
Another
valuable aspect of mobile credential is that it makes it possible to issue or
reclaim cards without face-to-face interaction. Under existing access security
systems, cards must be issued in person. Since card issuance implies access
rights, the recipient’s identification must be confirmed first before enabling
the card and once the card has been issued, it cannot be retracted without
another separate face-to-face interaction. In contrast, mobile access cards are
designed to transfer authority safely to the user's smartphone based on TLS. In
this way, credentials can be safely managed with authenticated users without
face-to-face interaction.
Mobile
cards can be used not only at the sites with a large number of visitors or when
managing access for an unspecified number of visitors, but also at the places
like shared offices, kitchens and gyms, currently used as smart access control
systems in shared economy markets.
The
market share of mobile access cards today is low even though the capability can
offer real benefits to users and markets. While the access control market
itself is slow-moving, there are also practical problems that limit the
adoption of new technologies like mobile access cards.
The
first problem is usability: compatibility and speed.
While
NFC could be an important technology for mobile credential that is available
today on virtually all smartphones, differences in implementation and data
handling processes from various vendors prevents universal deployment of a
single solution to all devices currently on the market.
Accordingly,
Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) has been considered as an alternative to NFC.
Bluetooth is a technology that has been applied to smartphones for a long time,
and its usage and interface are unified, so there are no compatibility problems
－
however, speed becomes the main problem. The authentication speed of BLE mobile
access card products provided by major companies is slower than that of
existing cards.
The
second problem is that mobile access cards must be accompanied by a supply of
compatible card readers. In order to use mobile access cards, readers need to
be updated but this is not a simple task in the access control market. For
13.56 MHz smart cards (which were designed to replace 125 kHz cards), it has
taken 20 years since the standard was established but only about half of all 25
kHz cards have been replaced so far. Legacy compatibility and the need for
equivalent performance, even with additional benefits, will drive adoption
timing for the Access Control market.
While
BLE technology helps resolve the compatibility problem of mobile access cards,
we can identify some breakthroughs that can solve the speed problem.
Authentication speed is being continuously improved using BLE's GAP layer and
GATT layers, and new products with these improvements are now released in the
market.
Making
use of key improvements allows Suprema's mobile access card to exhibit an
authentication speed of less than 0.5 seconds providing equivalent performance
to that of card-based authentication.
MOCA
System's AirFob Patch addresses the need for technological improvements in the
access control market in a direct, cost effective, and reliable way – by
offering the ability to add high-performance BLE to existing card readers –
enabling them to read BLE smartphone data by applying a small adhesive patch
approximately the size of a coin.
This
innovative breakthrough applies energy harvesting technology, generating energy
from the RF field emitted by the existing RF reader – then converting the data
received via BLE back into RF – and delivering it to the reader.
By
adding the ability to use BLE on virtually any existing RF card reading device,
MOCA allows greater ability for partners and end users to deploy a
technologically-stable, high performance access control mobile credential
solution to their employees, using devices they already own and are familiar
with. Adding MOCA AirFob Patch eliminates the need to buy and install updated
readers simply to take advantage of mobile credential, lowering costs and
risks, and increasing employee confidence and convenience.
