Access management in 2018
One of the important trends in security is that security systems are increasingly being managed integrally.
This applies to access management, but also to camera security or building automation.
This is not only practical, it also offers extra options that make access management in 2018 a lot smarter and more user-friendly. For a long time, security systems were used side by side and that was the most normal thing in the world.
In the meantime, due to the increased integration possibilities, it has become increasingly easy to combine functionalities of subsystems.
The advantage of this is not only that the level of security is higher, but also the ease of use increases.
By combining access control systems with external systems, they become smarter and we as humans have to perform fewer actions.
The security system is less ‘present’.
A modern security system does not adversely affect hospitality and has an ‘open’ appearance.
To give you an idea of what that looks like in practice, here are three practical examples.
1. Using biometrics
Adding biometric identification systems to access control increases the level of security.
Moreover, there is no longer a need for a separate means of identification, such as the iris scanners at Schiphol or the palm readers at the gate of a logistics company.
At the same time, the use of biometrics can speed up the identification process, such as at Schiphol.
Another form of biometrics is facial recognition. Video Management Systems (VMS) are already often linked to access control.
Examples include switching on a camera or recording images when someone presents an invalid access card and retrieving images based on events in the access control system.
The algorithms for facial recognition are becoming more and more powerful and can be used with almost any (IP) camera.
For example, it is already possible to recognize a person from a few meters away with a common IP camera.
Such an integration creates ‘unnoticed access management’.
After facial recognition, the VMS instructs the access control system to open a door.
Of course, measures must be taken to ensure privacy and it must be clearly defined what the data is used for and how it is secured.
After all, personal data is processed.
2. Reception on the company premises
How nice is it that when you arrive at a parking lot or garage, you are automatically guided to a free spot.
In the meantime, the host or hostess will receive a notification that his or her visitors have arrived.
Isn’t that a lot friendlier than the visitor having to hang out of his car window for the intercom?
This form of access management, in which special license plate cameras and possibly external facility or HRM packages are combined with access management, is not only hospitable but also efficient and safe.
If something is not right, it is immediately identified and human intervention can take place if necessary.
However, the visitor’s details, such as their license plate, must be entered somewhere in advance.
And in this example, too, personal data is processed and measures must therefore be taken to protect it.
3. Mobile Access
We used to use keys and the administrator was given a master key.
After that, access passes, with or without PIN codes, were introduced.
This was a huge step forward because it also allowed access to be divided into time slots.
After all, a code card can be given a certain validity.
An additional advantage of this step forward is the possibility to make reports afterwards.
Recently, we have been able to add another new identifier to this list: the smartphone.
The use of a smartphone as a means of identification, or Mobile Access, is based on a cloud service that is linked to the access management system.
Mobile Access goes beyond just using the device’s NFC transmitter and disclosing the code in the access control system.
The strength lies in the link (integration) of the access management system with a cloud-based issuance of ‘virtual credentials’.
From the access control system, a (virtual) means of access can be sent to someone that can be used to gain access.
This can also be a temporary visitor’s pass.
Mobile Access has the following advantages:
- It is no longer necessary to receive a pass first.
- The ease of use is great due to the longer reading distance.
At a distance of a few meters, it is now possible to open a door (hands-free).
This saves an action. - It saves a plastic card and therefore has less impact on the environment.
Open if possible, closed if necessary
Modern security focuses on hospitality and security measures are invisible as much as possible.
By carefully dividing spaces (zones) into risk classes, public and semi-public areas can be closed off from the secure areas, without everyone having to be guided through access gates.
This can be done, for example, using the Octagon™ Security methodology.
Where necessary, additional access control measures can be applied by combining technologies such as facial recognition with card readers and/or PIN codes.
In this way, the desired level of security is guaranteed, without experiencing closedness and control.