Improve interoperability among access control and security products.
The Security Industry Association (SIA) has announced that the SIA Open Supervised Device Protocol (OSDP) Transparent Mode configuration will now be open to all companies within the security industry.
OSDP is an access control communications standard developed by SIA to improve interoperability among access control and security products. Transparent Mode, a feature within the standard, allows secure communication channels while passing application-specific data between devices. This enables manufacturers to offer advanced device functionality without compromising the security and interoperability benefits of OSDP.
Previously, Transparent Mode was covered by U.S. patents held by HID and other intellectual property rights. HID has confirmed that its patents related to Transparent Mode, as defined in the OSDP specification, will not restrict its implementation in OSDP-compliant solutions.
SIA CEO Don Erickson emphasized the importance of open standards for the security industry. “Open standards drive innovation, interoperability and scalable deployment across the security industry, and Transparency Mode is integral to the secure, interoperable device communication framework of OSDP,” Erickson said. He also praised HID for supporting the adoption and development of OSDP.
OSDP was approved as an international standard by the International Electrotechnical Commission in May 2020 and is published as IEC 60839-11-5. The most recent version, SIA OSDP v2.2.2, was released in October 2024. SIA encourages broad adoption of the standard, particularly in government and higher-security applications, where it meets federal access control requirements such as PKI for FICAM. The SIA EU Advisory Board will also advocate for OSDP adoption in Europe.
The SIA OSDP Technical Subcommittee, chaired by Constantine Tremouliaris of ASSA ABLOY and vice-chaired by Jon Uren of Cypress Integration Solutions, includes access control manufacturers, integrators and end users who develop and advance the OSDP standard. The subcommittee serves as the primary editor of the OSDP specification.
More information about OSDP, including training, verification and purchasing the standard, is available on the SIA OSDP webpage.