A Colorado-based manufacturer of contactless security readers has significantly strengthened its market position with a major announcement in the physical security space. XCeedID’s multi-technology readers - capable of reading prox plus an array of contactless card flavors (e.g. Mifare, DESFire, iCLASS, my-d) - have been selected by Lenel for private-labeling. 

University students in one German state are using a new security method to logon to campus networks for daily business. The small USB devices fit nicely on a keychain and secure access to “non-public, exclusive service offerings and Internet resources (and allow students to) retrieve personal data, exam papers and exam results.” 

by David Wyld, Contributing Editor, AVISIAN Publications

When visitors step up to the gates of the four Disney World theme parks, the Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Animal Kingdom, or the MGM Studios, they will encounter something unexpected and largely foreign to them. Disney has embarked on a program to use an established biometric technology – finger geometry – to secure its valuable passes. Ostensibly, this new security is for the benefit of the pass owner. However, it is also being implemented to secure Disney’s pricing structure and marketing strategy. It has not come without controversy – and at least a bit of confusion. 

ColorID, which supplies ID systems to the campus card industry, has named David Stallsmith to lead its Advanced Technology Cards Initiative, a new project designed to help the company’s customers integrate such technologies as biometrics, single sign-on, server-based authentication and data encryption. 

Higher cost and lower market demand slows the adoption of PVC’s biodegradable rival … for now
by Marisa Torrieri, Contributing Editor

It sounds corny to some, but the latest card en route to consumers’ wallets promises the same durability of traditional petroleum-based (PVC) cards without using up one of Earth’s most valuable and dwindling resources … oil. 

Pharos Systems’ print cost management software, in use by colleges and Fortune 500 companies, will soon be incorporated in Lexmark’s integrated multifunction printers, which were specifically designed to run integrated solutions like that offered by Pharos. 

SmartCentric and Siemens will be installing a multi-application contact/contactless smart card system at the largest independent college in the southeastern U.S. The new card will include identification, e-ticketing, physical and logical access controls (utilizing biometrics) and cashless purchases. Subsequent phases will incorporate transportation and car parking.