Patent ID: 8474026

Claim:
A method comprising: detecting the presence of a group of credentials comprising at least one of a first credential and a second credential in proximity to a reader, wherein at least one of the first and second credentials are a portable device; determining that group authentication is required to make an access control decision; invoking a group authentication process at a selected one of the first and second credentials that includes: determining if sequential processing is allowed; obtaining a first value based on an exchange of data between the reader and the first credential; obtaining a second value based on an exchange of data between the reader and the second credential; analyzing a group authentication rule with the first and second values; and making a group authentication decision based on the analysis step; wherein in response to determining that sequential processing is allowed, group access is permitted in the absence of exchanging data between the reader and at least one credential in the group of credentials; wherein in response to determining that sequential processing is not allowed, group access is conditioned upon each credential in the group of credentials exchanging data with the reader; implementing an action consistent with the group authentication decision, wherein the action is one of admitting access to an asset protected by the reader, denying access to the asset protected by the reader, communicating an indication to the reader admitting access to an asset protected by the reader, and communicating an indication to the reader denying access to the asset protected by the reader.