HID Global Carries Out NFC-Enabled Smartphone Pilots That Open Doors

HID Global, the secure identity solutions provider, announced its completion of two pilot programs that validate how mobile access control using Near Field Communication (NFC)-enabled smartphones can allow employees to conveniently open doors with a mobile device without compromising physical enterprise security. The pilots were conducted at the headquarters of Netflix, the Internet subscription service for enjoying TV series and films, and Good Technology, the secure enterprise mobility solutions provider, using HID Global’s iCLASS SE platform including iCLASS Seos credentials that are portable for use on NFC-enabled smartphones.

Pilot participants highlighted improved security among the many benefits of using smartphones to open doors. “I love the idea of mutually authenticated reader-badges – it reduces the threat of badge skimming and replay attacks,” said Bill Burns, Director, Netflix IT Networking & Security. Netflix desktop analyst David Tsai added, “Technically, the physical security is better since it requires that a person know the phone can be used as a key, know the passcode to get into the phone, and know how to activate the key.” Similar feedback was provided by Netflix helpdesk support technician Lynn Chikasuye, who said, “People will rarely lend out their phone, which prevents unwanted use.”

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Good Technology also cited the security benefits of mobile access control as compared to photo ID badges, along with improved user convenience for today’s highly mobile workforce. “Our customers are always looking at new ways to enable mobile worker productivity and efficiency without having to take security risks,” said Michael W. Mahan, SVP Special Markets, Good Technology. “This pilot proved that using both a layered security approach and smartphones to provide secure physical access to buildings is a great way to meet their goals of adding security without complexity.”

HID Global’s multiCLASS SE readers replaced proximity readers at selected locations in both the Netflix and Good facilities, and pilot participants at each company were given Samsung Galaxy S III handsets. The handsets were equipped with NFC capabilities and HID Global digital keys, so they could securely store and emulate user credentials and open doors by presenting the handsets to the HID Global readers.

Netflix has traditionally used keyfobs for access control, and wanted to evaluate the benefits of provisioning digital keys over-the-air to its staff’s smartphones to further streamline the new-employee on-boarding process. The company also believed that digital keys could be a valuable addition to smartphones in its bring-your-own-device (BYOD) mobility environment. By the time the pilot was launched, almost half of the participants were already socialising the mobile access experience by using proximity tags affixed to the back of their current phones to open doors. The pilot was intended to test the concept of a true mobile access experience with over-the-air provisioning capability that also delivered improved user convenience and security.

In addition to testing this basic over-the-air mobile access control capability, Good Technology and HID Global extended Good’s mobile access pilot to also evaluate the use of an NFC-enabled SARGENT SE LP10 lock on the door to an executive’s office that colleagues use as a temporary conference room when he is away. This allowed the executive to control access to his office – offering it only to select members of his team during specified times – as well as run reports about who was using his office, and when.

The pilots highlighted a number of opportunities to improve the mobile access control experience as the industry moves closer to deployment. This includes bringing more mobile network operators and handset manufacturers into the ecosystem so that users have more service and product choices. Additionally, participants cited the need for an “always on” access control experience, which requires that NFC handsets be able to open doors without having to start an app, and that their secure elements, either embedded in the phone or in their subscriber identity module (SIM) cards, are made available for over-the-air communications directly with service providers. Pilot participants also highlighted the need for solutions that do not excessively drain battery, are available even when the battery is dead, don’t interrupt other tasks, and deliver an intuitive user interface with accurate graphical representations and conveniently sized icons.

“These pilots with Netflix and Good Technology clearly demonstrated how a highly mobile workforce can receive digital keys over-the-air and to their phones and use them to open doors, just like they had previously been doing with their existing photo ID cards, keyfobs or tags,” said Debra Spitler, Vice President of Mobile Access Solutions with HID Global. “As one pilot participant told me, “only having to carry one device for so many daily tasks is excellent.”