OSDP (Open Supervised Device Protocol) is an access control communications standard developed by the Security Industry Association (SIA) to improve interoperability among access control, smart card readers and security products. OSDP was created to replace the less secure Wiegand communication protocol. In contrast to a Wiegand reader which is essentially a basic one-way communication device, an OSDP reader is a “smart” device that can both communicate to the controller and receive communication from the controller.
OSDP was approved as an international standard by the International Electrotechnical Commission in May 2020 and has been published as IEC 60839-11-5.
SIA encourages broad adoption of this standard –which is already in wide use by many leading manufacturers like Cypress, HID Global and Mercury – and recommends specifying OSDP for any access control installations that require real security and/or will be used in government and other higher-security settings. SIA OSDP is particularly valuable for government applications because it meets federal access control requirements like PKI (Public-Key Infrastructure) for FICAM.
