CORPORATE ID

In today’s knowledge economy, one commodity that is highly valued is information. Information security is a top-of-mind concern for all CTOs today and the most serious threat to it is posed internally. The Corporate ID solution is aimed at providing organizations with a modern tool to combat this threat.

Corporate ID in its smart card “avatar” combines the conventional functions of the ID card with some specialized functions like logical access control and providing a cash-sterile zone using an e-purse. Several leading companies like Patni Computer Systems Ltd, L&T, HDFC, IBM, Microsoft, NEC, Nissan, Schlumberger, Shell, Sun Microsystems, American Express, General Electric, Pfizer, First International Computers and Boeing are today vouching on smart card Corporate ID.

Plastic ID card with photo ID as well corroborating information on its electronic chip thwart any attempts at tampering or duplication.

Multiple technology variants – contact smart card, contactless smart card, magnetic stripe card, prox card

Comfortable compatibility with biometrics ensures that an additional layer of security can be added without much effort

Time and attendance module provides accurate information for payroll processing.

Physical access to restricted areas can be controlled using authorization codes loaded onto the chip

Logical access to PCs, emails, Internet, Intranets, common domains, knowledge bases, databases, etc. can be routed through the smart card providing highly secure access

Cards leave trails that can be tracked using activity logs to pinpoint any security breaches

E-purses loaded onto the smart cards can replace cash transactions at various locations like the cafeteria, resource centre, souvenir stores, etc.

Physical Access

The biggest use of smart card IDs besides network security is physical access control. Until recently, other technologies have mainly controlled building entrances and doors - mag-stripe cards, Wiegand cards and wireless proximity cards that communicate a card’s serial number via radio signal to a door controller.

Increasingly, however, corporations are asking for contactless smart card chips for physical access. Probably the biggest reason customers want a contactless smart card chip is to store biometric data. That would allow a company to authenticate an individual’s identity by matching a physical characteristic, such as a finger image, with biometric data stored on the chip at enrollment. Proximity card chips lack the memory to store such data.

Another advantage of contactless smart cards is greater security, because they can encrypt data and carry out a mutual authentication with a reader before revealing employee data. A "PROX" card, by contrast, will broadcast its serial number to any compatible reader, potentially allowing unauthorized individuals to capture the data and create a phony card.

A third advantage is that card-reading devices can write new data to a contactless smart card chip. For instance, a pharmaceuticals company might want to record each time an employee enters a particular facility. That way, if there is a risk of contamination, an employee who has been in building A could be barred from building B.

Smart card chips, which can carry PINS as well as BIOMETRICS, also allow organizations to adjust their security as conditions warrant.

Logical Access

Smart cards also have a security component. When the card is removed from a workstation’s card reader, the connection to the user’s data is severed. That means intruders cannot sneak in and use an employee’s computer to gain access to corporate data while the employee is at lunch.

An employee can go to any workstation, insert their smart card and access any data they are entitled to see. It’s made mobility a lot easier.

E-Payments

Several companies put an electronic purse on the card to use in company cafeterias. That reduces cash-handling and offers convenience for workers.

Photo ID provides instant identification securing open traffic areas like lobbies and reception

Physical access control prevents any unauthorized access. Combined with biometric solutions this can be made absolutely watertight

Passwords are passé and can be cracked or bypassed. With the smart card security is complete. The moment the physical contact between the card and the reader is broken, systems lock down. Combined with biometrics this can also be made human-error-proof.

Using an e-purse provides for a cash-sterile zone on the premises so that cash handling is completely avoided.

Move to a paperless state is quicker with the smart card since all paper records relating to time and attendance, registers for access to secure areas, requests for access to special areas on the Intranet, databases, etc are now redundant.