The badge on your employees' lanyards can do far more than open a door. Smart cards for secure access combine physical entry, computer login, digital signatures and even payments on one credential, if you choose the right card type. The wrong choice can result in cards being cloned by thieves, a mismatch between a card and a reader, or required deployment of new cards when systems are updated or changed. This guide compares the main card technologies, explains government PIV requirements, and gives you a checklist for buying cards and readers that work together.

Which authentication token uses event-based algorithms for passwords? An event-based OTP token, also called an HOTP token. Instead of changing its code every 30 seconds, it creates a new one-time password each time you press its button. It runs on the open HOTP algorithm from the OATH initiative and needs no clock, no phone and no network. This guide explains how the algorithm works, how it compares with time-based TOTP, and where an event-based token is the right choice.

Both show you a six-digit code. Both add a second factor to a password. So does the hardware OTP vs software authenticator choice matter? It does, because the code is only as safe as the place its secret lives. An authenticator app keeps its secret on a phone that also runs browsers, messaging apps and whatever else got installed last week. A hardware OTP token keeps it sealed in a single-purpose device. This analysis compares the two on attack surface, seed storage, phishing, operations and compliance, and shows when each one is the right call.