Access Control Drifts and Challenges

There has been a continuous shift in Physical Access Control Terminal technologies, be it the acquisition of finger template on a single wave within a second rather than placing the finger on sensor and then waiting for the acquisition, to the use of the Open Supervised Device Protocol ( OSDP ) replacing the unsecured Wiegand Protocol for the communication between the Card reader and the door controller.

There has also been a growth of ‘smart security systems’ and ‘intelligent smart applications’ which add value beyond security, as well as the growing use of mobile credentials, wireless/offline locks and multi-modal biometrics.

There will be challenges within the industry such as the move from legacy technologies to a more secure smart card or an alternative form of credential, and with more and more manufacturers moving into areas that typically were not their core business, we will continue to see the adoption of more open standards and greater cross industry co-operation.

FRICTIONLESS ACCESS CONTROL VERSUS MULTI-MODAL BIOMETRICS

In a perfect world the ultimate goal is ‘Frictionless access control’ where the door is smart enough to know that you are the right person going through the door without an ID having to be presented. Although technology continues to progress to support non-credential access control for obvious reasons, we are not there yet. The use of wearable technology such as the smart watch is a growing trend, but there are limitations with the practicalities of its use, as required NFC (Near Field Communication) capabilities, etc. are not deployed in most watches.

The biometric industry is exploding in terms of reliability and availability of sophisticated products, with many now becoming technically and financially viable. Speech and voice recognition without an ID card is gaining popularity, along with facial recognition. However, facial recognition does have its limitations in certain environments. For example, within airports there are many light areas and shadows where the accuracy and quality of the facial read can be greatly affected and reduced.

“Biometrics always come with challenges and trade-offs. We must analyze the cost and the level of security required versus its reliability in terms of false rejection and acceptance rates”.

To overcome biometric reliability challenges within the industry, we are now seeing the growing deployment of ‘multi-modal (dual) biometrics’ as a more sophisticated and reliable biometric option. To ensure higher levels of reliability, we will continue to see dual biometric checks like Iris & Face or Fingerprint & Vein being deployed at the same time.

Happy Reading!

Chao.