2 6 · d e t e k t o r i n t e r n a t i o n a l
Special Feature: Access Control
Editor: Lennart Alexandrie
Is an ID tag on the vehicle or
number plate recognition the
solution?
"It is not enough to check the
vehicle, you also have to ensure
that the driver is authorised," says
Robert Jansson, sales director at
Stid Security.
In reality, a vehicle from a
trusted transportation provider,
whose ID tag verifies eligibility, is
often enough to grant drivers access
to a guarded area. In recent years,
automatic number plate recogni-
tion (ANPR) has been increasingly
used to check eligibility.
"Number plate registration is a
smooth and fast way to handle ac-
cess control on incoming vehicles,
but it is not recommended as a
security solution. License plates can
easily be stolen or falsified," says
Robert Jansson, who is concerned
about the often-insufficient control
of people who come with vehicles.
"Unfortunately, control of both
entry and exit of vehicles is often
more characterised by the need
for convenience than the demand
for security. Convenient solutions
are usually based on one-factor
authentication, which is far from
satisfactory," he comments further.
Security comes second
Robert Jansson is sales director for
the card technology manufacturer
Stid Security in the Nordics, East-
ern Europe and South Africa and
has 35 years of industry experience.
He is concerned that security often
comes second, which opens the
door for criminals. For exam-
ple, at the gates of the perimeter
protection for entry and exit, there
are sometimes staff or there is a
remote operator who checks the
vehicle's authorisation and decides
on access.
"Or there is only one card
reader that checks the authorisa-
tion," notes Robert Jansson.
"You want to get away from
staffing. The question then is what
is checked and how it is checked,
that is crucial for the quality of
the security you get. If you only
check the vehicle's authorisation, it
is more of a convenience solution
than a security solution", he says.
One-factor authentication
Robert Jansson is concerned about
the naivety that prevails when it
comes to, for example, checking
transport vehicles, not least in Swe-
den, where Robert has his base. He
claims that it is usually just an ID
tag on the vehicle that is detected
by a reader to determine whether
access should be granted. The
driver is often exempt from control
or both the vehicle and the human
behind the wheel have a UHF
tag, meaning both use one-factor
authentication.
"In the best case, the driver is
forced to leave the vehicle to go to
a reader, swipe his card and enter
his PIN, which is then two-factor
authentication. However, this
means that the very purpose of
long-distance reading has been
abandoned, namely that transport
should be smooth and with a lot
of incoming and outgoing traffic,
unwanted queues can be created,"
states Robert Jansson.
"Since fast passage had a
higher priority than security, the
authorisation check was focused
on the vehicle, which made theft
possible."
Two-factor authentication
But it is possible to use two-factor
authentication without the driver
having to get out of the car.
The word transport security leads the thought to how
goods transport vehicles should be protected against
theft. But how are "fake" carriers barred from entering
an area to steal goods? And how is it done safely and
smoothly?
"Secured access control of
transport vehicles is not enough"
Robert Jansson, Stid Security:
"If you use virtual cards via the
mobile phone, you can have both
one-factor and two-factor authenti-
cation in the hand of the driver. In
this way, the person's authorisation
can be ensured before the gate is
opened," says Robert Jansson.
The two-factor authentication
works so that the driver's mobile
phone is detected, but only when
the mobile phone is unlocked
with a PIN code or a biometric
template with an addition of also
having the particular credential
card unlocked with a PIN code or
biometric template that becomes
the virtual card's signature sent to
the reader. Thus, no unauthorised
person can use the ID carrier and
gain passage into the area.
Simultaneous reading
of vehicles and drivers
In 2021, Stid Security launched the
multi-technology reader Specter
Nano, which can remotely detect
and read the authorisation of
vehicles and people quickly, flex-
ibly, safely and simultaneously. The
reader can handle multiple vehicles
and people at the same time and
not only reads the mobile virtual
card for two-factor authentication
of people, but also all kinds of
windshield tags, cards and key fobs.
"The reading distances can be
adjusted both with Bluetooth and
UHF, and the fast reading means
that the driver hardly needs to slow
down, which contributes to ease
of use without reducing security"
explains Robert Jansson.
The working principle is simple.
The vehicle approaches the reader
and is detected by the encrypted
UHF tag, and the driver can then
already be detected via his virtual
card in the phone.
"The risk of criminals entering
an area via a stolen authorised vehi-
cle is eliminated with this solution."
"Two-factor rule"
The response to the launch of the
Specter Nano has been very posi-
tive. However, being able to apply
the "two-factor rule" via a single
reader, where access is only granted
if both the vehicle and the driver
are authorised, is particularly ap-
preciated in Norway, where there is
a law on two-factor authentication
if a transaction is to be logged in a
pass system. If you bring one-factor
authentication to a person, only
the vehicle can be logged, not the
person.
"Specter Nano is the first
solution where, via a single reader,
you can legally have a transaction
of drivers and vehicles in a pass
system. Interest in the solution is
very high there," he comments in
conclusion.
Specter Nano checks the authorisation of both the vehicle
and the driver simultaneously before access is granted.
Robert Jansson, Stid Security.