Taking access control mobile

IRVINE, Calif.—HID Global executives are excited to talk about the official launch of its new mobile access control platform—called iCLASS SE. It's a platform, previewed at ISC West this year, that HID predicts will “usher in a new era of digital keys and new portable identity credentials.”

At the ASIS show in September, there will be more previews available and HID also will announce a number of new partnerships.

HID is working with “leading chip providers and mobile handset manufacturers to embed our Secure Identity Object (SIO) technology directly into smartphones and other mobile devices, and with mobile network operators to prepare for the availability of digital keys and portable credentials on their NFC-enabled handsets,” Tam Hulusi, HID SVP of strategic innovation & intellectual property, told Security Systems News in an email interview. HID also is working with its parent company, global lock supplier ASSA ABLOY. The iCLASS SE solutions are in field trials in different vertical market applications including healthcare, education, and corporate enterprise. These partnerships will give  “integrators and installers a rich ecosystem of products, resources and solutions with which to serve their customers,” Hulusi said.

The new platform includes SIO-enabled (SE) family of readers and credentials: iCLASS SE credentials; iCLASS SE and multiCLASS SE readers; iCLASS SE Reader Programming Cards (for field configuration and upgrade options).

Hulusi believes the platform will transform “how secure identity is delivered and managed to significantly improve protection, flexibility and functionality.” Importantly, the platform operates on HID's so-called Trusted Identity Platform (TIP), which “enables configurable credentials and mobile contactless solutions to be securely provisioned no matter where users are located or how they are connected.”

Hulusi said it's the “first fixed and mobile identity platform that is based on open standards and can support a wide array of smart card technologies, including iCLASS, MIFARE DESFire, Indala and others.” This open platform means security levels can be easily and quickly improved with a firmware update, he added.

“To summarize, the same phone that we use to make calls, download emails, browse the Internet, and receive navigation guidance can now be used to open doors and deliver a wide variety of access control capabilities and services, which will enable integrators and installers to improve user convenience, expand applications, and significantly improve security,” he said.