The words above are slightly exaggerated and should be taken as such, but research and development in the field of new, more sophisticated, durable and even “bulletproof” or – if you prefer – undeceivable solutions to security systems continues to march forward.
This topic is also being studied by a team of experts consisting mostly of researchers from the Institute of Automation at Brno University of Technology, who have taken part in developing a unique access system with remote authentication.
Current access systems grant people access to secured premises (rooms, buildings etc.) only if such persons belong to the respective organization. The main problem of such system is that they only function within one organization and are incapable of mutual cooperation. If a person requesting access is from another organization, the situation must be resolved using special procedures. Such solutions are impractical, particularly for granting one-off access. However, the situation in the case of requests to access a block of flats is significantly worse. Here, authentication is very seldom performed, i.e. the person is only authenticated based on their appearance and a statement that they belong to a particular external organization, or based on an ID card that can be stolen and/or falsified.
The main idea of the newly designed access system with remote authentication is the possibility of granting access to such persons who are not members of the respective (home) organization, yet whom have been authorized by a local authority to enter the controlled premises. A good example are employees of various service companies, delivery services etc. The newly developed system enables secure and real-time verification of the identity of the person requesting access and thus considerably increases the security of an organization’s people and property. Another clear advantage is the considerable reduction in the time needed for the authentication process itself, e.g. when granting access to emergency services.
For communication between single access systems an ACP (Access Control Protocol) communication protocol is used, which was developed by the team of BUT researchers. Its uniqueness is also confirmed by the fact that it has been filed as a proposal for an internet standard (RFC). A significant functional solution includes the capability for mutual authentication between the terminal and the authentication server, e.g. using a system of public certificates, which contributes to increasing the security of the whole communication process.
Implementing an access system with remote authentication can be an attractive proposition for companies engaged in the development and manufacture of access systems, home security systems and security technology. Implementing the solution in the already used security systems of the joint emergency services and companies providing transport and delivery services also seems an excellent use of this new technology.
The access system with remote authentication is a system which provides a wide spectrum of use in providing security for persons, property and communications. Due to its wide range of application, its potential implementation in both concurrent and superordinate security systems, the whole system has recently been protected as a utility model.
