EMC and HID Global join forces and replace obsolete system that eliminates today's risks with an eye to the future

EMC insures against facility breaches with access control solutions from HID Global

HID Global, trusted leader in solutions for the delivery of secure identity, today announced that the company's credential and reader solutions for access control have been selected by mutual insurance leader EMC to protect its entire, multi-structure corporate campus at the company's headquarters in Des Moines and an additional facility in Ames, Iowa.

EMC worked with a security systems integrator to design a comprehensive solution for protecting seven buildings, two parking lots and one parking structure.  Its existing, 15-year-old access-control system infrastructure was based on proprietary technology that was no longer supported by the manufacturer, making it impossible to expand while leaving EMC vulnerable to security risks.

"We were in dire need of an upgrade in order to perform the functions we required," said Scott Gooch, control center supervisor with EMC. "Our card access security system was definitely the weakest link of our systems. Now, with our integrated solution from HID Global, we've not only eliminated critical immediate risks that could have been extremely costly, but also have the flexibility to continue upgrading our system as our needs change and security threats evolve. We also plan to expand the HID solution to our 17 branch offices across the country, from Providence, Rhode Island, to Phoenix, Arizona."

For EMC's upgrade, the company selected  HID's iCLASS®/Prox combination cards, iCLASS R40 readers for all buildings, and iCLASS R90 long-range readers for the parking garages.

EMC's new access-control system was phased-in over eight weeks and included 160 HID iCLASS R40 readers with paired, 64-bit authentication keys for EMC's buildings.  All RF data transmission between cards and readers is encrypted using a secure algorithm, and custom, non-interchangeable keys are used for locations requiring the highest levels of security. In EMC's two parking structures, the company installed 12 iCLASS R90 readers, which combine the longer-range read capabilities of contactless technology with the power, encryption and mutual authentication capabilities of smart card technology.

During the upgrade, EMC simultaneously re-badged its 1,800 employees with HID Global's 32-bit iCLASS contactless smart cards, which were personalised with photo IDs using two on-site printers.  Employees carried both badges during a two-week transition period, but otherwise the upgrade caused no disruptions to EMC's day-to-day operations. At the elevators, the new cards speed traffic flow by automatically granting floor access to employees in a single read operation, which is a noticeably faster process than the prior system that required verification and then approval of each individual floor request.

Moving forward, the field-programmable iCLASS technology will make it easy for EMC to add or subtract employees, or change their access profiles. EMC also has the ability to add applications to the cards, including cashless vending, time/attendance, logical access, energy control and video authentication.  Additionally, because HID's  iCLASS solution has been securely integrated with EMC's IT backbone and all field network controllers are IP addressable, EMC can easily add controllers wherever the security system network expands.