By: Dr. Jun Hong
Chief Technology Officer
What is SIA OSDP Verified?
The Security Industry Association (SIA) created the Open Supervised Device Protocol (OSDP) to better protect communications between access control system readers and door controllers. OSDP is designed to work across a broad spectrum of access readers, controllers, and software to help alleviate many longstanding security issues encountered with other legacy components such as Wiegand. This includes the use of advanced biometric solutions readers like the iCAM 7S, offered by Iris ID. Installing devices with OSDP protocol effectively helps users implement, monitor and maintain more stable and secure access control operations. Products that receive a SIA OSDP Verified mark must pass a comprehensive range of testing that validates conformity to SIA’s Open Supervised Device Protocol (OSDP) standard and related performance profiles.
Why is being SIA OSDP Verified Important?
As CTO of Iris ID, I know the value and importance of adopting OSDP in our product lineup. OSDP is industry standard, and it is essential to have in place as OSDP secures connections and constantly monitors wiring to protect against threats and hacks. Deploying access devices with OSDP verification ensures that the devices will work as intended for various types of access control use cases. The SIA cites four main advantages when using OSDP verified devices: higher security, advanced functionality, ease of use, and greater interoperability.
How is OSDP Being Used?
Government and other high security private and public organizations are primary beneficiaries of OSDP Verified and OSDP compliant products, like iris recognition solutions manufactured by Iris ID. These products support highly secure AES-128 encryption, which is mandated for government installations, and comply with Federal Identity, Credential and Access Management (FICAM) guidelines.
Another key benefit of OSDP standards is that they support bidirectional communications between devices, allowing access devices like the Iris ID iCAM7 Series Advanced Multifactor Biometric Iris readers to talk directly to the centralized management platforms. The OSDP enabled iCAM 7S only needs RS485 wires to communicate between the reader and the OSDP controller. OSDP is much easier to use with audio and visual feedback mechanisms like LEDs, audible beeps and on-screen display alerts/prompts that provide a faster and better user experience. Security administrators are relieved to know that managing and servicing OSDP-enabled readers can be remotely monitored and configured via the network, eliminating the need for costly and time-consuming on-site troubleshooting.
Perhaps most important, the OSDP protocol supports new and emerging advanced devices and applications, iris recognition and other forms of biometrics, smart readers and interactive terminals.