Ingersoll Rand Security Technologies announced recently that its aptiQ™ multi-technology reader, which reads both proximity and smart credentials, now also reads magnetic stripe cards to provide users with a simple migration path to increased credential security levels, including various forms of proximity such as MIFARE® Classic, the industry standard for contactless smart cards, and MIFARE DESFire™ EV1, which leverages open global standards for both air interface and cryptographic methods. The readers are also Near Field Communications NFC compliant, allowing users the ability to easily migrate to mobile credentials in the future as needed.
“Many organizations who still deploy magnetic stripe technology have asked us for an easy migration path to smart cards,” emphasized Jeremy Earles, marketing manager for readers and credentials at Ingersoll Rand Security Technologies. “With our newly upgraded aptiQ multi-technology reader, organizations using magnetic stripe and/or proximity cards can switch over to smart cards as their budgets and planning allows.”
The aptiQ readers are versatile, supporting a variety of credentials: magnetic stripe, 125 kHz Proximity and Ingersoll Rand’s aptiQ smart cards using either 13.56 MHz MIFARE Classic or MIFARE DESFire EV1 technology. The aptiQ readers can also read the card serial number (CSN) of most 13.56 MHz smart credentials and are able to communicate with the growing population of NFC enabled mobile phones. All aptiQ readers are FIPS 201-1 (Federal Information Processing Standard 201-1) compliant and have been approved by the U.S. Government under HSPD12 (Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12) as PIV (Personal Identity Verification) Transparent Readers.
The multi-technology aptiQ readers are designed to provide both integrators and end-users unique advantages and flexibilities over others on the market today. For integrators, one reader meets the credential needs of magnetic stripe, proximity and smart card applications. It lets end-users expand and/or upgrade credential technologies easily.
aptiQ readers are extremely easy to install, using a quick-connect wiring harness and a familiar standard wiring color scheme. Providing a streamlined offering of fewer readers with multi-technology capability, Ingersoll Rand meets the large variety of access control product needs without a confusing number of complex choices.
