INSIDE Secure powers HID iCLASS NFC phones

INSIDE Secure, a leader in semiconductor solutions for secure transactions, today revealed that its SecuRead(R) NFC solution is securing and powering the HID Global iCLASS (R) digital keys and mobile secure identity feature available on multiple new NFC-enabled smartphones. Since the establishment of its partnership with HID in 2001, INSIDE has been the supplier of semiconductor components for HID iCLASS credentials, and all INSIDE Secure NFC products are now supporting the HID iCLASS command set and protocol necessary to communicate with iCLASS readers.

“Last year we announced our commitment to bring market-leading iCLASS access control and identity credentials to NFC mobile phones by building this capability into all of our NFC solutions, and now we are seeing the first results of this partnership,” said Didier Serra, executive vice president and general manager for the US at INSIDE Secure. “Multiple smartphone manufacturers have the opportunity to incorporate this technology into their next-generation NFC mobile devices, and INSIDE will continue to add value to its NFC solutions through additional functionality to serve the needs of the market.”

Any mobile phone using INSIDE’s SecuRead NFC solution is iCLASS-enabled and can support iCLASS virtual credentials. The iCLASS virtual credentials themselves, as well as the credential management and crypto functions, reside in the secure element and can be provisioned and activated by HID Global..

“There is a tremendous opportunity for NFC and iCLASS virtual credentials to transform not only the corporate mobile phone but also more consumer-oriented applications,” said Dr. Tam Hulusi, senior vice president at HID Global. “Through our close relationship with INSIDE Secure, we will continue to seek ways to securely add new levels of convenience and flexibility to enable new application features and bring the power of iCLASS credentials to more mobile devices.”

A suite of new smartphones being deployed into the US and other markets will support iCLASS digital credentials and be compatible with the large installed base of iCLASS readers used for physical access systems in buildings, student IDs, time tracking and attendance application and more. People will be able to simply wave their NFC-enabled smartphone in front of a reader, instead of physical keys or smartcards, to use iCLASS digital credentials for authentication. HID Global previewed iCLASS digital keys and mobile identity credentials using the NFC capabilities of the BlackBerry Bold 9900 smartphone at the ASIS International 2011 security conference in September.