 Hey, welcome back to Think Tech Away. I'm Andrew, the security guy, your Hibachi Talk co-host. And I'm here with another public safety announcement on this production of Your Security Minute. Today we're going to talk about biometrics. Now, modern electronic access control systems provide for an electronic key to be issued to each door user. The key may be a card or a card or a biometric credential, like a fingerprint or an iris scan or a combination of two or more of those credentials. This is called multi-factor authentication. But most important is that modern electronic access control systems also track the open and closed position of the door. This allows the users to receive a forced door alarm when the door is opened without a proper key being presented. It also allows for door held open alarms to be programmed so that doors aren't left at jar by accident or purposefully. Now, this door position monitoring is what really separates access control systems from an electronic door opening system. Modern access control systems also track all user transactions by date and time and can prevent users from entering during unauthorized times, such as only allowing a cleaning crew to enter a facility between 9 and 10 p.m., for example. Now, the idea behind multi-factor authentication is to increase the level of trust in the access request transaction by adding something the person knows that could be a pin number, for example, or something that the person is, like a fingerprint, to go along with the card, which is something the person has. This increases the likelihood that the person presenting the credential to the reader is the actual card holder and not someone attempting to fraudulently access the facility with a found, stolen, or hacked credential. Now, in some instances, biometric authentication can be performed at a distance with iris scanning or with facial recognition. Now, this may allow more freedom or convenience of movement when compared to using a card at a reader or entering a pin number on a keypad. There is no standard application, so plan for requirements to vary. Also, biometrics don't need to be deployed on every door. You know, once a user has been confirmed via multi-factor, let's say at the main entrance to a facility, it may be safe to presume the person is authorized with their card only on the interior doors. Again, each site's requirements should be developed specific to their security needs. Now, multi-factor authentication, including biometrics, may be practical wherever a higher level of security is required or when a threat level increase due to the time of day or a change in the external environment necessitates additional access control assurance. Biometric access control equipment is long favored within the DOD and federal government facilities, but it's becoming commonplace in the commercial sector. You should be assessing your access control requirements on an annual basis to see where multi-factor authentication may help with your facility's security posture. If biometrics make sense, consult several different technologies before deciding which investment makes the most sense. Minimally, you will want the device to communicate via OSDP, that is, open-source data protocol, versus the older wagon format, and preferably it will support the secure encrypted form of OSDP. Now, who's got your back? Yay!