Thursby Launches Smart Card Reader for iPad and iPhone

Thursby has launched an iPad and iPhone smart card reader accessory that enables access to secure web portals, collaboration sites and email with authorization tied to smart card.

The PKard solution is a combination of a $149.99 plug-in card reader using industry standard CAC, PIV, PIV-I or CIV smart cards and a free app leveraging two-factor authentication.

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The PKard solution lets people access web portals, collaboration sites and email directly from their iPads and iPhones with secure authentication to their personal smart cards. For example, a US military reservist can access educational or training materials on secure sites from his or her own iPad or iPhone. Security is maintained at all times whether playing music, or switching from app to app, preserving the Apple user experience. Importantly, no changes need to be requested for back-end servers making the solution easy to install for both individuals and organizations.


"The PKard Reader frees individuals from desktops and laptops to use their iPads and iPhones directly with the same smart card and PIN that they have always used," explains Paul Nelson, Thursby's Chief Technical Officer, "providing organizations for the first time with the strong two-factor security required to responsibly leverage consumer mobile and cloud technologies." Almost five million Federal workers at hundreds of US government agencies and the Department of Defense (DoD) are issued smart cards for secure web access. Usage of smart cards is by no means limited to the government, or just the United States. Worldwide, almost one third of large corporations issue smart cards to their employees and last year alone over two hundred million healthcare smart cards were issued and over a billion in the financial sector.

The PKard Reader hardware plugs directly into the 30-pin connector on the bottom of an iPad, iPhone or iPod touch making for a simple, fast and secure plug'n'play solution that's independent of the form factor of the particular i-device model. The solution supports industry and US government standards including ISO 7816, CAC, PIV, PIV-I, CIV, EMV level 1, NIST IR 6887, FCC class B part 15, CE, RoHS, HSPD-12, FIPS 140-2, and FIPS 201. It is the first of a family of software delivering secure enterprise functionality to Apple mobile devices, leveraging our own and third party readers and optionally partnered with third party apps and service providers.
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Read More [via iPadevice]