aptiQmobile Turns Smartphones into Credentials
On the Monday before ASIS, Ingersoll Rand announced that aptiQmobile, which lets smartphones be used as access control credentials, is now commercially available to all. aptiQmobile is being sold through channel partners. It is available now on Android NFC-enabled phones regardless of choice of carriers and also works on unlocked phones. A Windows offering will be available soon. For the Apple i-Phone, we are offering a sleeve as an additional option to NFC-enable it.
For customers already using aptiQ readers, there is no need to replace anything. The existing aptiQ readers work with magstripe/prox/smart cards and the aptiQmobile credential. For new customers, aptiQ readers are multi-technology, offering an easy migration path from prox/magnetic stripe or smart cards to mobile. Customers can also continue to operate in a hybrid world of cards and mobile.
aptiQmobile adds unique technologies to enable secure peer-to-peer NFC mode while providing the convenience of using the mobile device instead of a key or Badge ID. In addition to the secure peer-to-peer NFC offering, which is available now, we are actively working on offering the NFC card emulation /secure element option working in conjunction with the carriers/TSM. There would be some customers who would prefer to have the secure element solution but we believe a good majority of customers will opt for the secure peer-to-peer option. The secure peer-to-peer offering provides some advantages in that it could be an universal /global solution, consistency of user experience at the end users, and works on unlocked phones.
In terms of security, the following highlights what makes aptiQmobile a secure peer-to-peer NFC offering:
- The screen lock feature keeps the credential safe if the phone is lost or stolen.
- The credential information is stored in the same memory location as other app passwords and sensitive information.
- aptiQmobile stores a 128 bit AES encrypted credential that has to be decrypted by the access control reader.
- aptiQmobile uses patent pending, anti-playback technology that changes every time it is used, so cloning one transaction won't work a second time. Thus, every transaction is unique and cannot be duplicated. This prevents someone from trying to transfer the credential to a second device or someone trying to record and then send it back to the reader at another time