by Shane Henson — October 8, 2012—HID Global, a developer of secure identity solutions used around the world, is proving that smartphones can be used to safely and conveniently allow employees to enter buildings—and that their use may be a better option than access codes, identity (ID) badges and keyfobs.
The company recently announced its completion of two pilot programs that validate how mobile access control using near field communication (NFC)-enabled smartphones can allow employees to open doors with a mobile device without compromising physical enterprise security.
The pilots were conducted at the headquarters of Netflix, a leading Internet subscription service for enjoying TV series and films, and Good Technology, a leading provider of secure enterprise mobility solutions. For the pilot study, the companies used HID Global’s iCLASS SE platform, including iCLASS Seos credentials that are portable for use on NFC-enabled smartphones.
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 when presented 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, says HID Global. The company also believed that digital keys could be a valuable addition to smartphones in its bring-your-own-device mobility environment.
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. It also allowed him to run reports about who was using his office, and when.
Results from a third-party survey of participants included:
- More than 80% of Netflix respondents felt that the application for unlocking a door was intuitive, and nearly 90% described it as easy to use. This perception was echoed at Good Technology, where more than 80% of respondents felt the smartphone was more convenient to use than their current access card, primarily because they never forget their phones like they do their badges.
- Approximately 75% of Netflix respondents said they would be willing to load the app onto their own personal smartphone. Roughly 75% of smartphone users at Netflix and 67% at Good Technology said that other people who saw them using their smartphone to access the building asked questions or expressed an interest in it.
- More than 83% of Good Technology participants said that the company’s physical security was improved by using a smartphone rather than a card to open locked doors. This included respondents who highlighted the benefits of layered security, and being able to use a PIN to unlock their phone and then use the mobile access app to gain entry.
- About 87% of Netflix respondents said they would want to use a smartphone to open all locked doors at the company.
- All Good Technology respondents saw value in additional uses of digital keys on their smartphones, such as logging on to their PC and using their smartphones for secure print authentication, as well as personal uses such as using their smartphones to access their residence and as a mobile wallet for payment. All respondents also said they would like to be able to use their NFC-enabled smartphones to receive digital keys over-the-air that could be used to access a hotel room.
