Method and system for access to secure resources

A method for a resource to grant access to a secure area of the resource to an external device, comprising:

• receiving a signal from the external device that is capable of authentication;
• initiating a communication with the external device;
• receiving a list of one or more authentication tokens the external device is capable of providing, the authentication tokens being results of hardware devices for identifying an attribute of a user of the external device;
• transmitting a request for one or more authentication tokens;
• receiving one or more authentication tokens in response to the request;
• and
• granting to the external device access to the secure area based upon acceptability of the one or more authentication tokens.

A portable device for gaining access to a secure area of a resource, comprising:

• a transmitter to transmit a signal that identifies the device as capable of authentication;
• a receiver to receive an initiation of a communication with the resource;
• a controller to respond to the initiation of the communication by transmitting one or more authentication mechanisms of the device;
• wherein the receiver receives a request for use of one or more of the authentication mechanisms;
• wherein the transmitter transmits a token for each of the requested authentication mechanisms;
• and
• wherein the device gains access to the secure area in response to acceptance of the one or more of the tokens by the resource.

An authentication unit of a resource for granting access to a secure area of the resource to an external device, comprising:

• a first receiver to receive a signal from the external device that is capable of authentication;
• a communicator to initiate a communication with the external device;
• wherein the receiver receives a list of one or more authentication tokens the external device is capable of providing, the authentication tokens being results of hardware devices for identifying an attribute of a user of the external device;
• a transmitter to transmit a request for one or more authentication tokens;
• wherein the receiver receives one or more authentication tokens in response to the request;
• and
• an authenticator to grant the external device access to the secure area based upon acceptability of the one or more authentication tokens.