IDFACTORS, a pioneer in highly secure physical access readers and solutions, recently shipped the first units of their new TrustPoint 1-Factor access control reader. The TrustPoint Reader is sure to gain interest within the security industry because of its architectural design, competitive price and PKI security features. TrustPoint will help both Government and Commercial customers save money and close security gaps before – or while – moving to the Open Secure Device Protocol (OSDP) standard.
IDFACTORS has also expanded production by adding nearly 2,000 square feet to their facility in Berkeley, CA where all products, including TrustPoint, are designed and produced.
Why it Matters
As enterprise customers consider moving to the OSDP Standard, it is important they keep in mind that OSDP has limitations. Most importantly, OSDP only authenticates readers and it does not authenticate the credential, which is the low hanging fruit for a hacker to attack.
Up to 50% of access systems in use today use Prox cards. The expense of replacing controllers and software to carry out OSDP makes no sense until a secure smart card platform is implemented. Fortunately, an open PIV-Capable platform is emerging that enables the enterprise to control the creation of their credentials and manage the issuing of public key certificates to secure the credentials.
IDFACTORS Readers Benefit Commercial and Government Customers in 3 Ways:
IDFACTORS encourages Security Officers to think of Zero Trust architecture, which is called FICAM (Federal Identity, Credential and Access Management) in the Federal Government. IDFACTORS readers deliver essential and seamless functionality in a Zero Trust PACS environment:
- IDFACTORS readers now support both Wiegand and OSDP protocol, enabling the enterprise with a limited budget a path to upgrade to PIV-capable credentials and readers with strong security before tackling the expensive conversion to OSDP controllers and software.
- IDFACTORS readers are now PKI-capable at no added cost, meaning they can support the Federal Government PIV and CAC credentials as well as strong PIV-capable credentials that are emerging in the private sector.
- IDFACTORS readers off-load the PKI functionality from system controllers that may be supporting up to 32 doors, improving overall system performance by reducing access transaction time.
A Zero Trust architecture assumes that there is no traditional network edge. Applying the same strategy to a physical access control system (PACS) means that the network edge has been expanded to wherever a user’s credential may be.
Some enterprises may want to delay investment in OSDP because of financial considerations. However, if the existing access system uses Prox cards or another card that is not considered secure, at a minimum the enterprise should consider upgrading the weak credentials and readers to an open and secure PIV-capable platform.
Questions and comments can be directed to Tom Corder, CEO of IDFACTORS. Tom’s email is tcorder@idfactors.com and his direct phone number is 510-545-4393.
