Smart Card Alliance white paper details the types of authentication mechanisms available for PACS

(03/11/2009)

Many agencies are working on upgrading or replacing their installed physical access control systems (PACS) to meet new PIV requirements, with Personal Identity Verification (PIV) credentials being issued by government agencies for both physical and logical access.

With these agencies in mind, the Smart Card Alliance Physical Access Council has developed a new white paper detailing the types of authentication mechanisms available for PACS to identify people who are entering different areas.

The new white paper, Authentication Mechanisms for Physical Access Control, details authentication mechanisms beyond those in the NIST Special Publication (SP) 800-116, “A Recommendation for the Use of PIV Credentials in Physical Access Control Systems.” SP 800-116, published in November 2008, provides useful guidance on where to deploy various PIV authentication mechanisms.

The Smart Card Alliance has written a number of white papers to explain the PIV authentication options. However, not all possible authentication mechanisms are included in SP 800-116. The new white paper describes additional methods, their use, and the regulations or requirements that drive their implementation.

“The SP 800-116 document provides useful information regarding authentication and the use of PIV credentials for PACS. However, a number of scenarios are not covered. Our security industry experts have written additional guidance for local security authorities who may be left with unanswered questions when faced with installed PACS technologies and occasionally conflicting regulations regarding authentication,” said Randy Vanderhoof, executive director of the Smart Card Alliance. “This document highlights some of these situations and suggests some additional authentication mechanisms for security authorities to consider.”

Some of the alternative authentication mechanisms described in the white paper include: mutual authentication protocol (MAP); mutual registration; and widely deployed mechanisms such as combinations of cards, PINs, and operational or reference biometrics. The white paper also details example implementations using alternative authentication mechanisms, including the Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) and the Aviation Credential Interoperability Solution (ACIS) program.

Council members involved in the development of this report included: AMAG Technology, CSC, Diebold, Gemalto, Hirsch Electronics, HP Enterprise Services, Identification Technology Partners, IDmachines, JMF Solutions, LLC, Roehr Consulting, XTec, Inc.

Related topics:  Building access control system   Fingerprint biometrics   Intrusion detection   Smart card   White papers 

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