Oct 27, 2020HID Global, a global provider of identity solutions, has announced that its Seos technology credential will allows users of Nymi Band 3.0 wristbands to more easily open doors and authenticate systems, devices and equipment. The Nymi Band is a bracelet that offers the convenience of continuously authenticating a user's identity until it is removed from that person's wrist. This provides security and access control using fingerprint and pulse biometrics, the company reports, for users seeking touchless authentication.
"Wearables are an increasingly popular authentication for accessing buildings, doors and assets, manufacturing systems with compliance-traceability requirements, health and defense markets, and other hands-free applications for which users may not be allowed to carry mobile devices, cards or fobs," says Steve Currie, HID Global's VP and managing director of extended-access technologies. "We are excited to provide these high-security authentication features with Nymi Band 3.0, a new wearable on the market."
In addition to physical and logical access use cases, the Seos credential allows the Nymi Band 3.0 to be used for applications ranging from smart and secure print collection to social distancing due to the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as contact tracing for visitor management, payments for kiosks and vending machines, and secure remote work.
"HID's Seos technology gives Nymi Band 3.0 all the features of a secure smart card, including its first-class encryption that offers superior data protection and privacy compared to other biometric and credential technologies," says Chris Sullivan, Nymi's CEO. "We believe that these features will drive even faster adoption of our wristbands, which are already gaining rapid acceptance in applications such as pharmaceutical manufacturing, with an emphasis on privacy, security and a natural user experience."
The HID Seos applet is loaded into the Secure Element (SE) within each Nymi band, so that it can carry encrypted security keys and firmware. The Seos credentials are sent to the wristbands via a Near Field Communication (NFC) connection. A user need only register his or her fingerprint once on the Nymi Band, and the bracelet will then be matched to that person's identity.
At the beginning of each workday, a user would authenticate the band with his or her fingerprint, and the bracelet would thus be securely activated once it detected that individual's heartbeat. Native support in HID's DigitalPersona software allows the wristbands to be used for Microsoft Windows login with Seos and FIDO2 password-less authentication. The Seos credentials support HID's Signo and iCLASS SE readers, which the company says are widely deployed in major vertical markets worldwide.
According to HID, the Nymi Band offers users assurance of identity thanks to its unique biometrics. Through body detection and presence, the Nymi Band 3.0 ensures that it is always being utilized by the intended user, and that he or she is physically present. What's more, the firm reports, a person's biometrics always remain on the wristband, thereby providing security and privacy.
