Now APL-Certified! Identiv’s Hirsch U.S. Government FICAM Solution

By Mark Allen

Today is an exciting one! Identiv’s award-winning Hirsch government Federal Identity, Credential, and Access Management (FICAM) solution is now included on the U.S. government’s FICAM Approved Products List (APL) and is available for immediate deployment. The General Services Administration (GSA) lab — part of the FICAM Testing Program — has evaluated and approved our end-to-end FICAM solution.

Why Choose Identiv’s FICAM Solution?
Named the “Best Integrated System for HSPD-12 and FIPS 201 Compliance” by American Security Today and “Best Physical Logical Privileged Access Management Solution” and “Best Access Control Hardware” by Government Security News, Identiv’s FICAM solution is faster and less expensive than other options on the market. It provides customers a low-cost, simple-to-deploy, secure solution for FICAM compliance and high-security building access. The time required to upgrade existing Hirsch Velocity physical access control systems (PACS) is significantly less than competitor’s solutions, allowing federal agencies to meet rapidly approaching compliance deadlines. The time and cost to deploy new systems or transition from another system is offered at the same extreme value as other Hirsch by Identiv solutions.

What’s the History of FICAM Compliance?
In 2004, Presidential Directive HSPD-12 started a chain of actions by the U.S. federal government to tighten identity-based physical and logical security for all government employees and contractors under the FIPS 201 and FICAM programs, and Hirsch by Identiv has been at the forefront of those programs every step of the way. Our second-generation solution fulfills the FICAM vision in a way that is the most cost-effective, highest performing, and deployable solution on the market. Early FICAM solutions were based on adding expensive third-party hardware, and were slow and hard to deploy. Our APL-approved FICAM solution is 100% Hirsch, and can leverage existing Hirsch infrastructure, or replace and improve upon other system platforms.

What’s Included with Identiv’s Solution?
The complete solution consists of Hirsch Velocity FICAM software,  Velocity Certificate Checking Service, and Hirsch hardware. If federal customers already have a Hirsch Controller installed, the FICAM compliance upgrade simply requires the addition of the new Secure Network Interface Board (SNIB3) and an RS-485 Reader Expansion Board (RREB) to connect to uTrust TS FICAM Readers. For new customers, the Hirsch Mx Controller includes SNIB3 and needs only the addition of the RREB to connect to Identiv’s FICAM-compliant readers. Identiv’s uTrust TS FICAM Readers are the industry’s most flexible and highly secure intelligent door reader endpoints which enable agencies to deploy highly secure U.S. government card authentication key (CAK) validation at a fraction of the cost of competing solutions. uTrust TS FICAM Readers are available in wall mount, mullion, keypad, and ScramblePad form factors.

What Are People Saying?
“The FICAM initiative presents a great opportunity for system integrators like TIC who specialize in providing and installing physical access control systems to government agencies and facilities,” said Derek Radoski, TIC President. “Because of the complexity and scope of FICAM deployments, we wanted to partner with the solutions provider who offered not only the best technology and performance, but one we knew we could trust for the long term with our important customers. No one fit that bill better than Identiv, whose Hirsch product has served the U.S. government for 35 years.”

“The Hirsch FICAM Velocity solution from Identiv offers the high-security and reliability for which Hirsch is famous for, and is the most cost-effective, easiest to install and upgrade, and fastest performing FICAM solution on the market,” added Mr. Radoski. “It is clearly the best choice for TIC as an integrator, and for every government agency seeking a secure, reliable, FICAM-compliant solution.”

How Can I Learn More and Order?
Identiv’s APL-certified Hirsch government FICAM solution is available immediately. To learn more, please visit identiv.com/ficam, watch the video demonstration on YouTube, or arrange a meeting with a FICAM expert here.