Empowering and Securing a Mobile Workforce

  • By Thierry Roz
  • Dec 03, 2025

What happens when technology lets you work anywhere – but exposes you to security threats everywhere? This is the reality of modern work. No longer tethered to desks, work happens everywhere – in the office, from home, on the road, and in countless locations in between.

Today’s proliferation of mobile devices – from powerful smartphones and versatile tablets to lightweight laptops and an assortment of wearables -- has enabled a new era of on-the-go productivity. But with it has come wherever-you-are vulnerabilities. Technology security buyers must equip this mobile workforce with the right tools to ensure secure access to sensitive systems and data regardless of where work happens. These tools must be as portable as the devices that are accessing these systems, and they increasingly must support passwordless authentication.

Moving Beyond Desk-Bound Security
As companies evolve to flexible workplace configurations that cater to the demands of a dynamic workforce, they also must evolve away from static, desk-bound security solutions towards mobile-friendly alternatives.

Today’s portable readers become a crucial component in this seamless setting. They provide a secure and convenient way for mobile workers to authenticate their identity and gain access to essential resources without being tied down by cumbersome hardware and network cables, or by and passwords or pins that are a well-known weak link.

Support for passwordless authentication is increasingly important. Passwords are easily forgotten, can be phished and are often reused across accounts and shared between coworkers. This creates a substantial vulnerability for cyber threats. But it is also inconvenient for mobile professionals who are switching between devices and locations while having to remember and enter complex passwords. This slow and frustrating login process disrupts workflow, impacts productivity and tarnishes the user experience. Meanwhile, having to frequently reset passwords also adversely impacts IT teams.

These pain points are removed with passwordless authentication methods – leveraging strong factors like mobile credentials in mobile wallets – that offer a more secure, user-friendly and efficient alternative. Portable readers play a key role in realizing these benefits.

Evaluating Today’s Options
When choosing a portable reader, look for options that are specifically engineered for the mobile universe. As an example, plug-and-play functionality eliminates the need to install drivers, simplifying the use of portable readers with smartphones, tablets and laptops equipped with a USB-C port.

To enable passwordless authentication, portable readers should also support passkeys and other multi-factor authentication (MFA) methods. This includes supporting the FIDO2 open standard that leverages public key cryptography to prevent phishing and credential theft. FIDO2 has become increasingly popular thanks to support from tech titans Google, Microsoft, Apple and others that have integrated the standard into their operating systems and browsers.

Additionally, portable readers should support various authentication methods including passkeys and mobile credentials for an added layer of security and convenience. They should also support high-frequency credentials including Seos®, iCLASS®, MIFARE® DESFire EV1, EV2 and EV3, as well as mobile credentials via NFC using HID Mobile Access, and credentials in Apple Wallet and Google Wallet.

This level of credential compatibility influences whether organizations can leverage their existing credential investments while embracing the benefits of mobile authentication. Some readers are also part of broader product families that further preserve existing technology investments and offer a unified approach to authentication across different work environments.

Flexibility features are also important. A valuable reader design element is asymmetric positioning of its USB-C connector, which enables users to rotate the reader by 180 degrees so it doesn’t block adjacent ports on the mobile device. This seemingly small detail significantly enhances usability and prevents frustration, especially when multiple peripherals need to be connected.

Any reader evaluation should also cover power efficiency. The less power a reader consumes, the lower the risk that it will drain the battery of the connected mobile device.

Reader Benefits by Application
The versatility and security offered by portable credential readers delivers valuable benefits across a wide range of industries:

  • Healthcare: Enable secure access to patient records, medical devices and medication dispensing systems for healthcare professionals working onsite, remote or while delivering virtual care.
  • Law Enforcement: Provide secure authentication for police offers and support staff accessing databases, criminal records and communication systems while on patrol or across agencies.
  • First Responders: Allow paramedics and emergency medical personnel to securely authenticate into hospital networks, electronic health records (EHR) platforms and secure communication channels while on the move.
  • Retail & Logistics: Ensure secure access to POS systems, inventory databases and logistics systems for authorized employees as well as authenticate fleet drivers for dispatch logistics.
  • Remote & Hybrid Workforces: Provide friction-free, secure access to company resources and VPNs for employees working near or far.
  • Enterprise & Corporate: Authenticate employees across various workstations, laptops and mobile devices regardless of their location.
  • Microfinance: Extend secure access outside traditional banking environments while reducing identity fraud risk.
  • Military: Enable personnel to securely access mission-critical systems, defense networks and classified documents in diverse operational environments.

Untethered Authentication Meets On-the-Go Productivity
The mobile workforce is the new reality, and portable credential readers are powerful enablers of this mobile existence. Their compact design, cable-free convenience, multi-device compatibility and passwordless authentication capabilities address the key challenges of securing a distributed workforce.

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