PKOC demonstrated for cards and mobile access

Physical Security Interoperability Alliance (PSIA) hosted a special interoperability event with seven companies involved in the access control market, demonstrating the emerging Public Key Open Credential (PKOC) specification.

The Interoperability Validation Testing was hosted at Convergint’s facility in Centennial, Colorado and featured products from ELATEC, Kastle Systems, JCI, Last Lock, rf IDEAS, SAFR Scan (RealNetworks), and Sentry.

PKOC specifications

David Bunzel, PSIA Executive Director, noted, “The value of having in-person testing sessions is to prove that a specification, like PKOC, is actually interoperable. It was an impressive demonstration, with the ELATEC reader successfully connecting and functioning in a matter of minutes with the other products.”

PKOC is a very exciting initiative, providing a free, interoperable credential, which will usher in a new era in the security market. PKOC has specifications supporting both NFC cards and BLE for mobile credentials.

PKOC NFC Card credentials

We are excited to support PKOC to help improve interoperability across the PAC industry"

"We are excited to support PKOC to help improve interoperability across the PAC industry, including at the recent interoperability test event," said Jon Torre, Senior Director of Engineering at ELATEC Inc.

He adds, "Our participation showcased our ability to read both PKOC BLE and PKOC NFC Card credentials from all the participating credential managers in attendance. It also highlighted the advantages of the flexible hardware architecture and open API of our readers, which enabled quick and easy integration with each vendor without requiring a single modification to their respective hardware or software offerings."

PKOC at GSX 2023

PKOC will be demonstrated at GSX in a couple of venues. JCI will be hosting a PKOC demonstration at its stand which will include devices from the above companies as well as IDEMIA.

“PKOC solves a 30-year industry challenge which has plagued our industry with complexity, cost, and security issues,” says Jason M. Ouellette, Head of Technology and Business Innovation at Johnson Controls Inc., (JCI) Security Products, and Chairman of the PSIA.

He adds, “Interest in PKOC has accelerated and showed the real value of PLAI and we are excited as PSIA members to demonstrate this in the context of interoperability across multiple physical access control systems, readers and biometric devices.”

PKI-level authentication

PKOC is offered as a BLE Mobile and NFC plastic card, proving asymmetric PKI-level authentication

With PKOC, interoperability is simple, the credential is secure with PKI-level authentication and there is no cost for a PKOC-compatible credential. PKOC is now offered as a BLE Mobile and NFC plastic card, proving asymmetric PKI level authentication can be truly portable to all transport modalities. Eager to see how this ecosystem expands once the word gets out. 

Security industry professionals attending GSX are able to set an appointment to see PKOC in demonstrated up until September 5, 2023. Email: dmaguire@psialliance.org. For more information on PKOC and its open card and mobile credentials look at the PKOC White Paper.

Physical and logical security

The PSIA has been active in developing and promoting open specifications that support interoperability in the physical and logical security industries. Industry publication, Security Technology Executive, declares interoperability “The Next Great Phase of Physical Access Control.”

SecurityInfoWatch.com expounds on the predicted demand for PACS interoperability by saying, “Open protocols, standards and industry-accepted conformant products that focus on unbridled interoperability between manufacturers and vendors will be critical as advanced technology, such as analytics and ancillary devices, enter the realm of physical security and access control.”