Ready for Hybrid Access Control? Today, there are three major initiatives for cards and credentials on college and healthcare campuses. Every security director needs to be aware of them.

1. Smart cards are becoming the credential of choice. If you presently use magnetic stripe or proximity cards, start planning for the switchover now.

2. It’s going to be a hybrid world. Although smart cards will be the credential of choice, multiple types of credentials such as key systems, PINs, various cards and biometrics , will still be necessary for certain operations. Adding specialized credentials to such areas is possible. And, even though you may be using multiple credentials, you still will want one system to manage all of them.

3. And now get ready for new technologies such as near field communications (NFC). With NFC-enabled smart phones, you will be able to employ your employees’/customers’ own smart phones as access credentials, just like they would use smart cards.

Start preparing now. A smart credential, which costs about the same as a proximity card, provides a higher level of security, more convenience, and far greater functionality. As used on campuses and in newer access control systems, smart credentials have the ability to manage access, payments and many other functions much more securely.

For instance, MIFARE DESFire EV1 smart cards offer several layers of security, including mutual authentication. This creates the ability for the client to verify or authenticate the server. […]