Traditionally physical access control uses contactless card (Mifare or 125kHz) and pin based access mechanism which rely on “what they have” and “what they know”. This technology was the first initiative in which technology is deployed to replace human guard. While it serves its purpose of the time, it was not good enough because “what you have“ and “what you know” can be easily pass to the next person and this is creates major security loophole.
At the turn of the century, biometric technology gains maturity to the main street. Biometric technology uses human fingerprint as unique authentication to address “what you are”. The technology effectively solves the security loophole.
As time advances, other form of biometric technology become matures such as facial recognition and Iris recognition. Each of this biometric technology has its own merits and shortcomings. For example on an outdoor deployment, both IRIS and Facial may not be reliable because of the environmental lighting.
To further strengthen a biometric based security access, a method known as multi-modal biometric authentication becomes a widely adopted practice. Multi-modal essentially refers to the combination of 2 or 3 modes of authentication usually a “ what you are” with “what you have” or what you know”. Multi-modal adds additional layer of control on time zone and access zone level.
Today cutting edge biometric technology utilizes 3D imaging for fingerprint, face and process with artificial intelligence technology. The 3D technology is very essential to resist modern spoofing technique using photo, video from smartphone and in some cases 3D facial mask or gummy fake fingerprint. The technology enables scanning fingerprint without contacting the sensor and this complies COVID SOP. The incorporation of artificial intelligence further enhances the learning ability of the system to recognize the person biometric data to achieve higher accuracies and greater speed.
Another aspect of choosing a good quality biometric terminal provider is the frequent participation of the manufacturer on independent test body such as US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). The top ranking vendors spend a significant amount of investment on R&D every year to perfect their algorithm and hardware.
Physical access security is often a onetime investment that is crucial to guarantee the safety of the buildings and employees. Choosing the right technology partner helps to lower the total cost of ownership in the long term and reduces the future risks of complete system overhaul.
