Gallagher sets the FIPS 201-2 Pace for PACS Performance
FIPS 201-2 compliant and global Physical Access Control System (PACS) experts, Gallagher, show they can achieve under 1.5 second PIV transactions at a recent National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) workshop in Gaithersburg, Maryland.
Hilderegard Ferraiolo, PIV Program Lead at NIST, put a question to Gallagher and a panel of PACS vendors at the workshop – is a 1.5 second PIV transaction possible?
The GSA’s Office of Government Wide Policy – Identity Assurance and Trusted Access Division raised concerns from one of their first FIPS 201-2 installations where measurements had shown the turnstiles took anywhere between 3.5 to 4.8 seconds to grant access on PIV card presentations. This result posed potential problems such as staff entry bottle necks and queue frustration.
Gallagher’s Chief Technology Officer Steve Bell affirmed the Gallagher PIV Solution records a 1.2 second access transaction, significantly faster than other PIV access solutions on the market. “The combined use of newer Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC) certificates on PIV cards and our solution’s uniquely efficient architecture allows much faster access transactions than previously thought achievable,” explained Bell.
“Our architecture is designed to manage PIV card authentication and access decisions natively, without requiring additional hardware. This, combined with Gallagher’s high speed HBUS reader protocol, delivers extremely quick and efficient PIV card transactions. Less hardware than most competing solutions reduces FIPS 201-2 installation costs and sped up the entire PIV card access transaction. Many other manufacturers still rely on the outdated Wiegand reader protocol as part of the transaction, slowing down the whole process of getting through the door.”
Bell believes that ongoing advances in PIV card chip technology could see access times sub-1 second in the near future and that access speeds under 1.5 seconds remove significant barriers to FIPS 201-2 adoption to deliver more convenient user experience, interoperability, and security benefits inherent in the FIPS standard.
The Gallagher PIV Solution is listed on the GSA’s PACS Approved Products List (PACS APL) for single and dual factor authentication solutions for procurement by the Federal government.
