Welcome to the rf IDEAS blog. Here, you’ll find our insights, trend information and guidance on a wide range of identification and authentication-related topics. Our authors are experts at rf IDEAS as well as partners and guests bloggers who bring their own perspectives. Browse, learn and enjoy.
From Physical to Mobile Credentials: Why and How to Migrate
Many organizations are migrating from conventional ID badges to the convenient security of mobile credentials. Learn how easy the transition can be.
Future of Credentials in the Digital and Mobile Wallet
The future of access via phone is here – and the possibilities this offers for employee badges is growing. If Learn how you the tap of your phone can now authenticate access to workstations, printers and other secure enterprise systems.? The future of authentication is in the digital wallet. Read why.
NFC vs. BLE: Which Credential is Right for You?
Mobile authentication using smartphones is secure and easy to manage. But should you choose BLE or NFC? Understand the pros and cons, so you can choose the right technology for your organization’s needs. Read our blog.
99.9% More Secure with Multi-Factor Authentication: Answering Your MFA Questions
If you’ve been wondering whether multi-factor authentication is right for your organization, the answer is probably yes. Learn why, and which MFA solutions could be the best choice for your particular security and productivity requirements. Read the blog.
Authentication in Healthcare: Why Does It Matter, and What Is the Best Method?
Cyber criminals have become highly sophisticated, and healthcare organizations are a high-value target. How can you protect health information and document compliance with regulations such as HIPAA while giving your staff more time to provide better care?
RFID Card Solutions: Here Today, Here Tomorrow
According to The Business Research Company, the global RFID card market is expected to grow from $9.43 billion in 2021 to $10.31 billion in 2022. Yet as innovative solutions emerge for secure authentication, why do the ubiquitous keycard and RFID card reader continue to play such a vital role in logical access control? Here are a few reasons.
The Cheap Smart Card Reader That Almost Cost Millions
If you’ve ever thought about cutting corners when purchasing identity access management (IAM) hardware, consider what happened in spring 2022 to the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD).
Why Multi-Factor Authentication is Important and How to Implement It
Beyond the government cybersecurity executive order, every commercial enterprise needs to take action for a secure, productive future. Even businesses not directly affected by government-imposed cybersecurity orders are still at risk of cyberattacks. In fact, the danger is considerably higher today than it was just a year ago. As more government-related enterprises reinforce the systems that protect access to their digital infrastructure and data, hackers are turning their attention to commercial enterprises that have failed to recognize and repair the chinks in their armor.
Cybersecurity for Manufacturers: 4 Ways to Improve Manufacturing Plant Cybersecurity Procedures
Just as banking, insurance, and government leaders were forced to quickly ramp up cyber defenses in the past few years, manufacturing professionals must today make securing their technologies, production lines, facilities, and processes a top priority. As companies expand their connectivity and reliance on cloud computing, major security gaps emerge. And that means the potential for big problems.
Secure Logical Access for the Commercial Enterprise: Simple Solutions for an Urgent Need
More than 1,000 data breaches have been reported in a single year In the United States at an average cost of $3.92 million each in losses and fines.1 Up to 88% of UK companies suffered data breaches in a single year at an average cost of £2.85 million. Successful hacks of small businesses in the UK occurred every 19 seconds.2
2021 Was the Year of New Technologies
Let’s get it out of the way: it’s impossible to talk about 2021 without talking about how companies responded to the pandemic. It has presented challenges and upended numerous business models, and the RFID industry isn’t any different. But 2021 also saw some amazing technological developments, especially when it comes to our WAVE ID® technology, innovations in applications and form factors, and the continuing explosion of mobile, MFA and BLE technology.
Responding to the New MFA Mandate
On May 12, 2021, President Joe Biden signed an executive order mandating the Federal Government to partner with the private sector in a multipronged campaign to protect the government agencies, private enterprises and American people against the threat of increasingly sophisticated cyberattacks.
Anyone who follows the news can understand why—and especially why now.
Touchless Technology for a Healthy Workplace
The coronavirus crisis demands a rapid response to protect essential workers. RimotHEALTH’s new contactless entry-screening and attendance-tracking kiosk, featuring rf IDEAS® technology, will be improving workplace safety long after the current crisis has passed.
Contact Tracing Software Puts Partnership on the Fast Track
Contactless attendance tracking software and authentication solutions are already playing a critical role in office environments, schools (related article here) and healthcare facilities. Recently, a major healthcare provider engaged rf IDEAS® and partner World Wide Technology (WWT) to implement a contact tracing solution across 800 locations serving thousands of employees… all in four weeks.
Information Is One Thing, Action Is Another
Our friends and partners at Imprivata recently completed a survey of healthcare executives, association members and CIOs to better understand how COVID-19 has directly affected their individual organizations’ Identity Management solutions. After reading through the results and analysis from the Imprivata team (related article found here), I would like to share what we at rf IDEAS have been doing to support Imprivata’s new efforts.
Technology Trends 2021: 5 Hot Topics to Look for in the RFID Industry
While 2020 will be remembered as the year we all worked from home, 2021 promises a return to productivity with workplaces reopening and authentication technologies shifting to meet new demands.
FIDO2 and WAVE ID® Readers: Fewer Passwords, Greater Security
Take a quick peek at your to-do list. Chances are, changing or strengthening your password(s) is not at the top of the list. And while it’s understandable that we all have other priorities, the downside of weak or stolen passwords is the potential for damaging and costly data breaches.
Touch-Free Secure Print for Businesses Returning to the Workplace
The current pandemic has forced virtually every organization on the planet to transform their approaches to workplace productivity. As a vaccine starts to become a reality, many of the world’s leading companies are already focused on back-to-office strategies and long-term planning for safer on-site operations.
The Advantages of Biometric Authentication—And a Few of the Misconceptions
With the upcoming release of our WAVE ID® Bio reader, rf IDEAS now offers an all-in-one solution for multi-factor authentication that’s both super secure and super easy. It provides a biometric fingerprint reader, a Bluetooth® Low Energy mobile credential reader and a proximity/smart card reader in one sleek, modern, plug-and-play device that only consumes one USB port.
Simplifying School Contact Tracing with Help from i-Attend and rf IDEAS
Event and attendance tracking plays an important role across educational settings. Students use identity cards and mobile credentials for classroom attendance, equipment check-out, accessing the library or school bus, meal plans and secure entry and access across campus facilities.
Three New RFID Reseller Insights for a Different World.
Time flies. It’s been two and a half years since I shared Three Insights for a Successful RFID Reseller with rf IDEAS for publication on their blog. Readership has been strong, and the relationship between rf IDEAS and Windmill Computing has continued to grow over the years, for which I’m grateful. But I’m often asked, “What has changed since then?”
The Future of Identity Access Management (IAM) in Healthcare
In this interview, Wright explains how Imprivata and rf IDEAS collaborate on new authentication technologies to bring unsurpassed efficiency and security to busy healthcare environments.
Choose Mobile Access for Simple, Safe and Secure Multi-Factor Authentication
As the logical access control pioneer and long-time leader, rf IDEAS is laser-focused on the opportunities for mobile access. Our WAVE ID® Mobile Readers work with today’s most widely used mobile credentials—including HID® Mobile Access, Orange Business Services Pack ID and Safetrust Wallet—while simultaneously supporting virtually every proximity and smartcard technology used worldwide.
Working From Home Is Suddenly in Style. Working Safely Always Has Been. Here’s How to Do It.
Username and password schemes bring multiple risks, from weak and stolen passwords to shared keyboards that can spread pathogens. rf IDEAS has simple suggestions for avoiding these threats while enabling users to be more productive—at home and in the office.
EPCS and 2FA: Authentication on the Frontlines of the Opioid Crisis
As we all know, the long, national nightmare known as the opioid crisis continues to drag on across the U.S. According to a recent American Psychiatric Association poll, nearly one of three Americans knows someone addicted to some form of opioid. And, according to the CDC, on average, 130 Americans die every day from an opioid overdose.
IAM is now a Top 10 Strategic Priority for State Governments
When it comes to IAM, state governments are concerned about managing access for both their employees and the citizens they serve. According to Doug Robinson, NASCIO’s executive director, “enterprise IAM approaches and solutions are gaining more traction in the states and are essential for managing secure employee access and supporting digital government platforms for citizens.”
No Single Badge to Rule Them All
User badge authentication should simplify lives and wallets – not add an additional layer of complexity.
GOING MOBILE: How Mobile Credentials Can Improve Access Control in Healthcare
With more than 60% of the world’s population owning a mobile phone, business use of smartphones has become ubiquitous for the workforce around the world.
Healthcare for Hospital Keyboards — What’s Lurking in the Crevices of Your Hospital’s Keyboards?
Healthcare workers’ hands often come into contact with blood, secretions, and many other substances in the course of a workday. These substances can be easily spread to the computer keyboard as clinicians input information, review doctor’s orders and navigate application screens. Moreover, keyboards are notoriously hard to clean because bacteria can become lodged beneath and between keys, and in areas that are hard to reach and disinfect.
Drowning in Passwords? You're Not Alone. 5 Reasons Your Business Should Sign on to SSO
When passwords first came into vogue in the early 1960s as a way to secure computers, we couldn’t envision the many ways they’re being used today.