Smart Cards for Campus Environments Advantages and Technology Choices
By Nathan Cummings, HID Corporation
University and business campus security managers have never had more options for access control cards and other badging and credentialing applications. Magnetic stripe and proximity technology remain popular and effective but 13.56 iCLASS contactless smart card implementations offer many more options for campus security, employees, students, faculty and university staffers.
Whether you are installing a new system or expanding an existing system, or undertaking a major upgrade, there are several considerations for using contactless smart cards instead of proximity or other access control card technologies.
Contactless smart cards achieve a higher security level of the credential and the overall access control system. Contactless smart card technology is optimized to provide highly-secure devices by using cryptography, encryption and the internal computing power of the smart chip. Since the ISO/IEC standards do not address security and authentication, this capability must be examined specific to each supplier. In addition, contactless smart cards provide more storage and the secure reading and writing of data than other technologies.
With increased storage capacity, the ability to add applications to the card becomes one of the most important advantages of contactless smart cards. Depending on the amount of memory available and the number of memory areas, contactless smart cards can serve as multi-application credentials used for many purposes. Since the memory can securely store any kind of information, physical access control credentials based on contactless technology can be used for just about anything. These application examples may include:
• Cashless Vending • Equipment, Material, and Library Check-out • Health Records
• Secure Authentication • Local Loyalty and Membership Programs • Transit Passes
• Guard Tour Information • Parking and Perimeter Security • Biometrics
• Time and Attendance • Authorized Access to School Equipment • Information Access
Today’s campus environment needs may only consider access control to dorm rooms or the convenience of cashless vending, but what about tomorrow’s crop of students? A contactless smart card access control system provides an immediate benefit of higher security, and better positions the university with options for adding new applications.
A prime example of this is Arizona State University’s (ASU) deployment of HID’s iCLASS 13.56 MHz contactless smart card technology. ASU has an enrollment of more than 57,000 undergraduate, graduate, and professional students on three campuses in metro-politan Phoenix, Arizona.
ASU was looking for a state-of-the-art door access control system that would eliminate their dependence on an existing proximity and magnetic stripe card system, because it did not offer sophisticated security features, such as biometrics, that they desired. They also wanted to migrate to a single-card solution that offered more than just door access applications. This was one of the driving factors that led the university to utilize iCLASS 13.56 MHz contactless smart card technology. ASU’s Sun Card program was initiated in 1997 and used for identification, library circulation control, registrar services, as well as access control to athletic and public events and the Student Recreation Center. The online debit card program was used for making payments at merchants both on- and off-campus. Now, as they migrate to iCLASS technology, they plan to expand their access control points and have full biometric capabilities implementing a higher level of security on their campus.
Contactless smart card technology is affordable.
The many advantages of contactless smart cards have generated a great deal of interest in recent years, but one important factor that held the market back is cost. Until now, proximity technology held an important cost advantage over smart cards; however, that has changed. Anyone with a budget to put in a standard proximity-based access control system can now afford to install a smart card system. And if migration from magnetic stripe or proximity technology is a concern, you can utilize a multi-technology or combo card that will work as you migrate to contactless smart card readers. Many installations will migrate their technology over time, alleviating the need to swap out equipment or credentials. Most enterprise environments are similar to a campus environments in that they are adding more applications onto their identification card.