Harrisburg School District in South Dakota had a physical access control system in place, but administrators wanted a standardized, district-wide security system that would secure eight buildings, one high school, two middle schools and five elementary schools.

Social logins are just about de rigueur. Consumers don’t want to create new accounts, so sharing or piggy backing on existing credentials they already use can be a great solution. That is the key to social login, extending a user’s existing social media credential to enable access to other web sites and services.

Identity can be asserted in many different ways. But the most common way an individual asserts an identity is by handing an ID card over for visual inspection. But making sure it’s not counterfeit is difficult and playing an important role in anti-counterfeiting efforts are the materials that make up the document.

The Security Industry Association Open Supervised Device Protocol (OSDP) will be a key piece of the SIA InteropFest at ISC West 2015. The access control specification has a history as an access control specification, offering interoperability and new functionality.

Fast, cheap or good. The old adage says you typically can’t have all three. The same has been true when choosing a card printing technology, but things are changing. The direct-to-card method had filled the “fast and cheap” niche but new retransfer card printers are filling an important niche in the form of superior image quality and affordability.

The mobile device is going to play more of a role in identification and authentication in the future, but the policies surrounding what an employer can do with the devices are still evolving. A professional lacrosse teams deploys BYOD security and what role with the Apple Watch play with identity?

Stories from the spring issue include: the evolution of AFIS; for better cards, consider better materials; step-up authentication; and electronic IDs in Europe.