For this year’s Samsung Developer’s Conference, the energy and excitement surrounding smart Solutions and Things was infectious. Ever since the company’s inception, Samsung has inspired a loyal customer following which stems from decades of delivering high-quality electronics and appliances to our homes and offices. This year, with their introduction of new and highly-capable Smart Solutions and Things, Samsung is ramping up for its next wave of incredible products that are sure to deliver unmatched events and experiences. UniKey’s COO, Lee Odess, was there to give us a complete run-down and his top three takeaways from the show:
1) The Tech that’s Leading the Way
This year, Samsung unveiled Bixby 2.0 and the SmartThings Cloud. With Bixby 2.0, the company is looking to expand on voice-controlled products and give consumers the reliability and efficiency they’ve been looking for from this kind of voice recognition technology. Lee stated that “because Samsung has products in homes that are “essentials” and almost always on, such as TVs and refrigerators, the opportunity is there for Bixby to deliver the same kind of reliable experiences consumers have been anticipating from voice control technology.” Samsung is also driving change and smart initiatives through its big move with their brand name SmartThings by moving all their IoT products and services to one connected ecosystem called the SmartThings Cloud. We expect this to be the very tip of the SmartThings iceberg as Samsung is developing even more ways to simplify and connect everything around us.
2) Connected Everything
With the addition of Bixby 2.0 and the SmartThings Cloud, we can see the path Samsung is forging for the future of connected technology. After the introduction of Bixby 2.0, the show moved on to showcase Samsung’s latest smart appliances as well as the company’s vision of connecting just about everything. In response to this, Lee stated that “as a platform company whose very bones are comprised of IoT connected things, I’m excited for what’s ahead and to be partnering with Samsung.” As new advancements in IoT technology and products take center-stage, UniKey envisions the future of a connected world where the smartphone and mobile key begin and end the journey to every connected experience.
3) Collaboration
Outside of the more technical aspects of this year’s SDC, Lee also noted the partnership between Google and Samsung which brought ARCore to Galaxy devices earlier this year. For the two tech giants, the project not only exhibited ground-breaking AR technology but also the high-quality products that can be actualized through strategic partnerships. “Instead of going at it alone and competing, they valued the IP, know-how, speed to market, costs, and all the other attributes collaboration brings,” Lee adds. We believe the products our team saw at SDC 2017 reflect the nature of how smart devices will be developed in these next few years. The future won’t be built by just one company, but by many.
Collaborate with UniKey
To learn more about what partnership and collaboration can yield for your company, visit unikey.com
At UniKey, our culture is very important to us. It unites our team and motivates us as it enforces the UniKey vision and goals that help us deliver an incredible access control platform. We spend a lot of time and consideration evaluating potential candidates based on how their values and ideologies align with our own. Altogether, our products are not only powered by ground-breaking technology, but also a collection of talented, self-driven, individuals. To learn more about UniKey’s culture and our team, visit https://unikey.com/careers/.
This year we’ve witnessed several critical cyber attacks. Very recently, our nation was hit by the Equifax data breach, which has left half the country and its financial data incredibly vulnerable. In May it was the ransomware attack, WannaCry, which affected over 200,000 computers across 150 countries. In June a Petya-like attack in the Ukraine left hundreds of businesses inoperable. In a recent article by Inside Counsel, CEO of FairWarning, Kurt Long, explains that these attacks and the cyber criminals behind them are becoming more sophisticated and organized as “Cyber criminals have morphed into businesses with capabilities to organize and build large attacks.” By the year 2020, the number of exposed points of entry for cyberattacks will reach over 20 billion as more and more IoT devices are brought into homes, offices, and cars.
Sacrificing Security for Speed of Development
Recently, studies have found that not enough companies are taking the right steps to prevent cyber attacks. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security states there has been an increase in the number of companies that are taking on the much more “difficult and expensive endeavor of attempting to add security to products after they have been developed and deployed.” Today, too many attacks are occurring because platform developers are bypassing crucial security protocols in an effort to push products out in a timely fashion.
And if the IoT and more specifically connected security systems are going to survive, security needs to be the main point of focus and must be prevalent throughout a system’s embedded software, communications, cloud platform, and applications. Proven methods of encryption and sophisticated PKI are the key to resisting attacks and hackers who will find a way to exploit any unpatched vulnerability. The necessity of keeping all of your components patched and up to date is something that is best showcased by the recent cyber attacks and events at last year’s Defcon Conference, which resulted in the hacking of 12 out of 16 connected smart locks; one of the four locks that remained secure was powered by UniKey.
Secure PKI
There are several recommended security protocols for IoT devices and platforms in place so that smart locks and mobile key platforms may not be subjected to the same kind of exploits that were discovered at Defcon 2016. For starters, one of the many methods of securing data transmission is the implementation of a robust Public Key Infrastructure, or PKI. PKIs are potentially a company’s greatest security asset, and could mean the difference between a resilient system and a hacker’s dream. A product’s PKI, especially those in the access control industry, should be designed to employ a unique shared secret for each phone, lock, and gateway in order to ensure secure communication. At UniKey, we treat each interaction between a user and our devices as unique interactions and as such they can never be replayed. Under UniKey’s PKI system, additional shared secrets are also produced every time a user attempts to pair their smartphone with a lock; adding another layer of protection against possible replay attacks.
Anticipate Attacks (Cryptographic Noncing helps prevent replay attacks)
Creating multiple layers of encryption and making sure your product’s PKI is up to par are not the only way to prevent cyber attacks. Developers must also be on the lookout for any bugs or attack surfaces in a system’s framework. Even if your company believes it has the most secure platform on the planet, routine security audits should be made on a regular basis. Additionally, it’s critical for platform and user security that companies understand and recognize the risks and limitations in their own platform, so they may implement preventative measures against botnets, DDoS, and man-in-the-middle (MITM) attacks, which have impacted several pieces of software and IoT devices across the nation.
To conclude, building access control that your customers can trust begins with the implementation of preventative security measures. There’s a very dangerous trend in place where IoT platform developers rush to get a device on stores’ shelves; leaving little time to properly fortify the software and hardware of the device. Ryan Dean of Altman Vilandrie & Company states that “there are lots of providers developing innovative [IoT] solutions, but when it comes to purchasing decisions, buyers are looking for a brand and product they trust.” In keeping up with the IoT trend, access control is going from legacy systems like RFID and magstripe cards to wireless, connected readers and deadbolts. As access control providers continue to make the move to IoT enabled, digital credentialing like mobile access control, it’s imperative that security remain at the forefront of every developer’s mind. To learn more about building secure access control products visit unikey.com.
From cybersecurity to internal workplace safety, this year’s ASIS Convention is sure to pack many interesting topics, demonstrations, and industry education into three incredible days. In addition to all of the events and a massive showcase floor that will hold over 500 exhibitors, this year’s ASIS will host some unique keynote presentations. Among the list of speakers is former President George W. Bush, Shark Tank judge and serial entrepreneur, Mark Cuban, author and business consultant, Scott Klososky, as well as the first female F-14 Tomcat aviator/ former lieutenant, Carey Lohrenz.
The Demos
Beyond the anticipated list of speakers, ASIS is guaranteed to bring a promising amount of impressive demonstrations from access control companies who are utilizing technologies like AI, Biometrics, wireless readers, and platforms. For instance, you have Code Lynx’s Aries, a mixed reality security system, using Microsoft’s Hololens, that “provides the security operations center with a real-time body worn display of what the field units are seeing and interacting with.”
Moreover, expect to see plenty of information and demonstrations on the latest biometric technologies. BioSignature ID will be presenting their unique gesture-based security system that’s meant to prevent internet fraud. Additionally, Princeton Identity will be presenting their new IOM Access200 to ASIS attendees. Several companies will be featuring wireless readers this year, as well as open security platforms as more and more companies turn to these solutions to improve access control ecosystems.
Hot Topics
This year at ASIS, the hot topics range from cybersecurity, workplace safety, and global security. For cybersecurity, there are plenty of seminars being held to inform the industry on best practices and preventative measures against ransomware, malware, and DDoS attacks. Seminars like “What have physical security hackers taught us?” and “Become Stealth Online” will be sure to improve attendees’ knowledge on the subject in addition to teaching them preventative measures against cyber attacks. Best practices on workplace safety will also be taught through sessions on “Strategies for violent predator mitigation,“Safe Employee Termination,” and many more. Finally, ASIS 2017 will also shed some light on more difficult subjects like terrorism through seminars on response strategies and the development of strong, proactive communities.
Network with UniKey
As a team that’s working to advance and support the access control and security industries, UniKey will be attending this year’s ASIS Tradeshow. At ASIS, we hope to build more strategic relationships with companies who share the same vision of laying a foundation for the future of an access control ecosystem built on a sophisticated and interconnected network. To learn more about UniKey and our open access control platform, visit unikey.com and schedule a meeting with us at ASIS 2017.
In 2012 UniKey’s founder, Phil Dumas, went on Shark Tank and showcased a working prototype of the world’s first smart lock. Shortly thereafter UniKey became exclusively recognized as a smart lock company. In the 15 minutes Phil presented the product, the sharks and viewers were able to see its incredible built-in features. However, what they didn’t see was the concrete foundation this smart lock and its technology was laying for the future of the access control industry.
Most people know UniKey through its involvement with the Kwikset Kevo. The Kevo, powered by UniKey, however, is the closest UniKey Technologies gets to being a smart lock company, or a direct competitor to August, LockiTron, or Friday smart locks. In fact, UniKey views all of these lock companies as potential customers. Phil expands on this vision by stating, “while UniKey is the world’s largest smart lock company, we don’t make or sell any smart locks. Why is this? It’s because our vision is to change the way the world accesses everything, and in order to do this we cannot do it alone.”
Operating as a licensing and Access Control as a Service (ACaaS) company, UniKey was able to share its vision and technology with 15 partners, seven of which are number one in their region, in both the residential and commercial access control spaces. As a whole, UniKey is expanding its platform, technology, and ecosystem in order to offer it as a service to lock and security OEMs across the globe in an effort to transform this vision into a reality.
UniKey’s Secure Access Control Platform
The rate of adoption and support for mobile access control is growing rapidly as individuals and organizations recognize the opportunities mobile integration can hold for their products and customers. With the Kwikset Kevo, UniKey helped facilitate the adoption of smart lock technology at a residential level. However, in order to drive the acceptance of smart locks, UniKey developed a platform that would tackle all end user concerns and needs, starting with security. First off, UniKey’s platform was designed to face security threats through military-grade encryption methods. Additionally, the platform never has to compromise security for the sake of performance due to its refined scaling abilities; making the embedded software so resilient and efficient that partners can confidently host one to millions of users.
Partner with UniKey
Today, there are many companies looking to reform their legacy products in favor of producing locks and readers that will offer their users greater security, control, and experiences. To make this happen, UniKey equips partners with the greatest mobile access control platform and licensed technology that can reduce production impediments and accelerate the product’s time to market. To learn more about integrating with UniKey’s secure access control platform, visit unikey.com.
Whether it’s Latch or Kevo or even the Ellipse bike lock, mobile access control is experiencing a boom. In all key verticals: residential, commercial, automotive, and so on, we’re seeing this trend driving many companies to build sophisticated mobile access products. Some companies are developing these products on their own mobile key platforms, while others are partnering with reliable access control platform providers. In almost every use case, the benefits of integrating with a secure platform greatly outweigh the drawbacks. We discuss a few reasons why below:
1) Customization
For companies who are looking to have a considerable amount of customization throughout the development process of their product, choosing to partner with a platform provider will prove to be the most promising decision. A platform provider’s main concern will always lie in the overall performance of the software that’s embedded in your product, meaning the entire look of your reader or deadbolt will be up to you.
2) Scalability
When it comes to mobile access control, scalability is a must. Users will expect to be able to send, accept, and authenticate eKey credentials at any point. Creating a system that’s able to handle anywhere from 1 to 1,000,000 users is a specialty for platform providers as it’s something that is always anticipated in this tech savvy world full of growing digital adopters. Today’s platforms are also built in cloud environments, which make them more cost efficient. As demand for the products grow, there’s no need to worry about purchasing more servers in order to sustain software efficiency.
3) Reduction of Risk (and costs)
To dive a little deeper into the cost efficiency of mobile access platforms, integrators and partners can experience a significant cut in development costs and risks when building on a platform that’s already proven itself in performance, security, and user experience. What’s more, partners won’t have to worry about the legal and development roadblocks and expenses throughout production; accelerating time to market for the product.
4) Cutting Edge Technology
Additionally, one of the greatest opportunities platform providers have to offer their partners is the impressive pieces of technology that are unique to these companies’ systems. At UniKey all of our partners have the ability to take advantage of unparalleled IP, which include Touch-to-Open®, Inside/Outside Authentication, and machine learning capabilities. All of our technological staples work to unlock simplicity and enhance user experiences while upholding the greatest level of security in the mobile access control market.
5) Integrations
Finally, with more and more people connecting IoT products like the Nest and Alexa to their mobile access products, demand for integrations is growing. Keeping users’ wishes in mind, most platform providers operate and build their platforms on open APIs in order to ensure extensibility for their products and make future technological growth feasible through a flexible system. With these open APIs, partners can expand on their product’s features in order to offer customers unrivaled user experiences.
To learn more about UniKey’s secure access control platform, visit us at unikey.com.
Compare and contrast: the excitement around the release of the very first iPhone in 2007 vs. the hype around the iPhone 8. There’s a significant difference in the amount of eagerness and anticipation for these phones, 10 years and 15 models later. For consumers, these phones have become a fifth appendage and as a result, have come to blend in with the rest of their daily lives; only given a second thought when it breaks or doesn’t work. Access control, in a sense, is essentially the smartphone of the technology and security industries. There’s nothing overly flashy or ostentatious about it; it just simply works and remains consistent in its foundation and performance. However, in recent tech media outlets, the iPhone’s consistency is something that has been dubbed “boring”. Nonetheless, hundreds of thousands of consumers still love its unchanging and familiar user experience. Which is what got us thinking that perhaps the kind of technology and products that we produce should follow along these lines.
The Value of Consistency
What many critics of the smartphone are overlooking is the value in the consistent and straightforward nature of the product. When it comes to the smartphone’s user experience and performance, consumers know exactly what they’re getting. But if the user experience varies and is unpredictable it causes frustration. This is not unlike access control products, because if a user has an interaction with an access control platform that proves to be inconsistent in performance, then the end result is the same level of frustration produced by an unreliable phone.
Seamless Experiences
In 2017, access control (and even our smartphones) should be something that we can take for granted, so much so that it shouldn’t even be a thought in our minds, and become a reliably, uneventful part of our lives. With the latest technology, the next generation of access control is capable of offering a passive experience, where users can seamlessly be authenticated and admitted through a point of access. There should be no extra step in the access process wherein users must present a credential to a reader. We live in an age where access control technology can and should readily recognize who is approaching the check-point and over time come to learn users’ regular comings and goings to make the granting of access more perceptive and efficient. These are processes that should come to be natural to users due to their reliable and unchanging nature. There should be no question of a system’s quality or any coin-tossing on whether or not the system will perform adequately.
At UniKey, we deliver mobile access control solutions that are unobtrusive and homogenous in performance so as to provide the most ideal and nearly predictable user experiences. Our mobile key readers are constantly using the latest in technological advances like machine learning and BLE in order to make office and home security adept, dependable and simple. To learn more about the industry’s most reliable mobile key platform, please visit unikey.com
Everywhere you look you can see the ways in which digital transformation has brought on a technological evolution. We’re currently living in the age of Industry 4.0, where advanced technology and machinery have coalesced to boost the productivity of manufacturing, shipping, and overall production of consumer goods. And if you’re reading this on a laptop or smartphone, think about the predecessors of these pieces of machinery. You’ll recall what once was a hulking piece of machinery and known as the “personal computer,” is now anything from a slim, 10” laptop, to a tablet, or pocket-sized phone. The world around us is in the middle of an incredible digital transformation, as every day our technology is advancing to create better and more convenient solutions. So why not invest that same level of transformation and advancement into our access control platforms?
It’s 2017 and as you read headlines about big name companies, you’ll find that they’re either falling behind due to lack of innovation in their customer experiences, or they’re downright knocking customer experience out of the technologically connected park. No matter the business, one thing seems to hold true throughout every industry: doing the same old thing is not going to cut it anymore. Consumers want exciting and new experiences, and in this day and age, they’re calling for adventures and products that are worthy of the tech-savvy populace. Below are just a few big-name companies that are stirring things up with cutting-edge technology such as IoT and big data in order to keep their products and businesses fresh.
Universal’s Tapu Tapu
It’s no secret that Universal’s Volcano Bay will be this summer’s hottest water park. Volcano Bay guests are raving about the many twists, turns, and plunges the park’s slides and rides deliver. However, there’s another thing that Universal has introduced to their theme park experience that seems to be elevating guests’ impressions of this Polynesian adventure. A smart device guests wear as a wristband, known as Tapu Tapu, helps its users hit every ride possible while delivering exciting experiences along the way.
When wearing Tapu Tapu, guests just walk up to a totem in front of an attraction entrance and with a wave of their wristband, they’ll receive a time when they can come back and enjoy the ride without having to waste time waiting in line. It also ignites some incredible interactive experiences guests can engage in as they walk throughout the park. Tapu Tapu works through the use of Near Field Communication and IoT technology in order to create a fun-packed and queue-less adventure.
Amazon Go
Amazon has been creating a lot of buzz throughout these past couple of years. Between Alexa, Amazon Go, and the latest acquisition of Whole Foods, this booming business is diving in deep with futuristic technology in order to produce some exceptional consumer experiences. Amazon Go is expected to reshape retail shopping as we know it by eliminating the entire checkout process by bringing in a new order where customers can just take what they want off the store’s shelves and whimsically walk out with their new purchase. Now you may ask: How exactly is one just able to walk in and out of Amazon stores with their new item without even making contact with a check-out line? It’s simple: through machine learning and an incredibly engineered system.
The Amazon Go system logs items as shoppers make their way throughout the store through computer vision, sensor fusion, and deep learning. This is how the store is able to eliminate a traditional check-out line. Additionally, when customers exit the store the system analyzes that they’re leaving, adds up the items in the user’s virtual shopping cart, and charges their Amazon account which is connected to the Amazon Go app they must have installed on their smartphones. We expect to see this kind of shopping model make its way to brick-and-mortar stores now that Whole Foods is under Amazon’s umbrella.
Warby Parker
Online, there are tons of sites where consumers can purchase quality eyeglasses at a bargain. Today tons of people have used services such as Eye Buy Direct and Zenni Optical to skip over the trifle of scouring through the limited selection of expensive eyeglasses at their optometrist in favor of these company’s try before you buy services. This year, however, Warby Parker announced they will be taking this at-home experience a step further in providing their customers with the option to do an at-home eye exam. Using big data, a mobile app, and three standard vision tests, Warby Parker is making it possible for users to not only purchase eyeglasses from home but also receive accurate prescriptions for these glasses.
IKEA
When you walk into an Ikea, you’re almost always welcomed by a smiling and enthusiastic employee whose background echoes the very same grin on their face. With what seems to be an endless amount of incredibly charismatic living spaces, Ikea brings furniture buying to a whole new level, and they’re about to take their unparalleled experience an additional step further by bringing it to our homes. Just recently, Ikea announced that they will be working with Apple in order to create an app that allows its consumers to literally picture Ikea’s furniture in their own homes through augmented reality. Ikea’s leader of digital transformation states that the app will initially have “500-600 products available on the iOS app” for buyers to virtually place around their homes in order to make the furniture buying process a whole lot easier.
So there you have it, from adding convenience by helping us skip over queues and check-out lines to giving life to the mundane task of retail shopping, technology is enhancing and in certain cases even transforming the way businesses interact with their consumers. After seeing so many successful brands adopt the latest and greatest in what technology has to offer, the time has never been better to take a step in the same direction. This is why UniKey works day in and out toward delivering optimal experiences and convenience for our customers. To learn more, visit unikey.com.
After the impact of the world’s biggest ransomware event, WannaCry, the world is not only questioning the defense behind cyber security, but also the stability of modern, smart technology. While WannaCry was an attack that inflicted massive turmoil throughout dated Windows software, the same kind of infiltration could potentially happen to access control platforms that are not up to date with the times or are thoroughly lacking in strong encryption algorithms. With modern technology there are now new opportunities in physical access control that can make our security stronger and smarter than the outdated systems many businesses are still using.
For starters, a piece of access control technology that’s quite ubiquitous throughout businesses is the RFID or mag stripe key cards. Most of us have used these credentials for years in order to access hotel rooms, offices, inventory and more. RFID, dating back to the 1970’s, has been around for decades, and as a result has left plenty of time for people to learn its vulnerabilities and what it takes to duplicate the credential. Moreover, this piece of technology only offers its users a superficial amount of protection, as it only requires a security card reader to pick up the emitted signal from the cards in order to grant a person access. Only one step for credential authentication is created throughout this exchange of signals, and as such makes it a lot easier for anyone to use these key cards. When it comes to user security, companies should keep in mind dual-factor authentication, which will keep everyone more secure.
Dual-factor authentication means a security system must go through two layers of verification: “What you have and what you know”. Applications such as RFID key cards only take into account what a credential holder has (the key), while another form of access control, keypads, only takes into account what we know (a pin code). Since the emergence of such technology there hasn’t been many updates as traditional “PACS systems, once installed, are by nature resistant to change. PACS tend to be capital intensive – i.e., expensive and complex to install, requiring specialized training to operate, and proprietary in design.” Thankfully, there has been explosive growth in other pieces of technology since the production of RFID, pincode, and mag stripe technology, which can strengthen the security of access control everywhere.
Tremendous expansion in the power and presence of IoT technologies, coupled with the flexibility, ubiquity, and lower cost of easily-integrated software, AI, mobile devices, and cloud computing are bringing about smarter, stronger, and better connected access control systems. The smartphone, found in nearly everyone’s pocket, is a huge driver for innovation and change across all technology markets, since its bluetooth technology creates such an easy channel of communication for smart devices that can enhance security and can be managed under one umbrella.
In addition to bringing in more cost-effective security integrations, mobile access control also offers its users that dual-authentication, the “what you have and what you know,” double-layered barrier this day and age is demanding. By using mobile access control, users’ smartphones will act in a similar fashion to an RFID/ proximity card through the use of a heavily encrypted eKey. And with today’s smartphones offering the ability for its owners to enable a fingerprint reader, passcode or pattern lock screen to their phones, smartphones effortlessly create dual-authentication that comes natural to users. With more and more advancements coming each year to smart phone and IoT technology, this form of access control will only strengthen in its ability to ward off threats and be an unparalleled service to its users.
To learn more about the benefits and opportunity in mobile access control check out our new white paper and visit us at unikey.com.