PSIA Approves PDKC Over ODSP Specification

  • Mar 26, 2024

The Physical Security Interoperability Alliance (PSIA) today announced its Public Key Open Credential (PKOC) specification has expanded to support Open Supervised Device Protocol (OSDP). The new specification, PKOC over OSDP version 1.63, was unanimously ratified by the PSIA Board on March 22. It demonstrates how the ecosystem for PKOC, an open and freely available specification, can be extended to support a range of access control use cases.

The PSIA worked closely with members of the OSDP Technical Subcommittee and a broad group of industry leaders in the card, reader, and access control industries to come up with this specification.

“Today, the members of PSIA are celebrating the incredible milestone of delivering an open specification for the industry which facilitates the implementation of government-level security at commercial pricing, while maintaining full interoperability. This is truly a remarkable accomplishment,” said Mohammad Soleimani, Chief Innovation Officer of Kastle Systems.

PKOC addresses the need for a universally compatible secure credential for the physical access control industry in the form of cards, fobs, mobile devices, and wearables. Progress has been dramatic, with the apps, readers, and cards being showcased at industry events. PKOC over OSDP will be demonstrated at ISC West and commercial panels implementing the spec are expected in the coming months.

“Panels are a critical component in access control systems. Finding a way to provide an open specification that will improve access control security has been our objective. Complementing PKOC with OSDP to support panels is an effective means to accomplish this,” said David Bunzel, Executive Director of the PSIA.

“The ratification of the PKOC over OSDP specification marks a pivotal moment in the security industry for the PSIA. Today PKOC compliant readers can maintain compatibility with legacy Wiegand-based infrastructures for the ease of immediate adoption. This specification paves the way for achieving an even higher level of security for OSDP-based access control system panels. This milestone underscores the PSIA’s commitment to secure communication methods along with a drive towards open standards through these specifications and sets the stage for commercial realization of PKOC this year. This achievement is a testament to the contributions of many of PSIA’s members and their dedication to advancing access control technology in an open and scalable way,” says Jason Ouellette, Chairman of the Board, Physical Security Interoperability Alliance and Director of Engineering and Tehcnology for Johnson Controls Security Products.

PKOC is featured in products from ELATEC, Kastle Systems, INID, JCI, Last Lock, rfIDEAS, SAFR Scan (RealNetworks), Sentry Enterprises, and Taglio.

For more information on PKOC and its open card and mobile credentials please look at the PKOC White Paper. To access the PKOC Explainer Video, please click this link.

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