How To Level Up Your Access Control System

Guide to Leveling Up Your Access Control System

Over the years, security has been considered as one of the major factors that can make or break a business’ reputation. That’s why biometric machines gradually gained its popularity across business organizations.

Clearly, biometric access control systems have the ability to protect business premises from intruders and internal threats. But as security threats become more and more sophisticated over time, it’s essential to level up the security of your building’s access control system regularly. By following these easy tips below, you’ll be able to strengthen your system in no time:

1. Examine The Access Control System Features Your Business Needs

In order to determine how you can improve your access control system effectively, it’s fundamental that you know what features your current setup has. By being highly knowledgeable about your present access control system, you’ll be able to identify the lacking features you need to optimize your business’ security.

Furthermore, if this is your first time to install an access control system, make sure that you look into the system’s features intently and see whether it matches your business needs or not. Never base your access control system choice on its looks if you want to get the most out of it.

To serve as a guide, here are a few things you should consider when you’re picking out the access control system for your business:

• In what areas is the system needed?
• How many times will it be used to gain access in the area?
• How many individuals will need separate access levels?
• Will the system fit the other components or technology you already have in place?
  
  

2. Audit The People Who Have Access to Your Business Premises

One of the potential risks commonly seen in organizations these days is the occurrence of access bloats. Access bloats occur when the number of active access cards is greater than the actual number of employees in an organization. With that said, if your company’s access control system has 600 active cards registered even though you only have 300 employees, then you’re experiencing access bloat.

To avoid this kind of problem, it is recommended by experts that you audit the people who have access to your system regularly. Furthermore, it is also advised that you set timeout features for your cards. You can follow these examples presented below:

• Set cards to shut off access when they are not used at the building within a predetermined span of time.
• Design cards to self-expire after a certain period of inactivity.
• Connect and sync access card to contractor or human resources databases.

In addition to that, regular system audits can also enable you to monitor and track the people who come and go in your building. Through that, you’ll be able to keep an eye on the visitors who set foot in your business premises. Evidently, the access control system audits have the ability to improve your business security. That’s the exact reason why experts frequently emphasize the importance of these audits to business owners.

3. Keep Your Technology Updated

In this day and age, the utilization of 125 kilohertz (kHz) technology has been discouraged by experts from IT service providers. This is because of this system’s susceptibility to being compromised. According to experts, the access cards of this system can easily be replicated. With that said, IT professionals will strongly suggest your business to upgrade once they find out that you’re still using that technology.

Many business owners nowadays think that access control technology is a one-time investment. Although that may seem convenient, technology can become obsolete quickly. If you want to make sure that your system will remain reliable throughout the years, it is advised that you prepare a system upgrade budget every 10 years. Furthermore, it is also recommended that you keep your software up-to-date yearly.

4. Conduct Periodic Access Control System Testing

Just like how it’s necessary to test your smoke alarms to make sure that they will work the way they’re expected, it’s also vital that you test your access control system when you first deploy them. This enables you to get the peace of mind that your security device will work properly when you need them. Aside from that, it also gives you an idea of what devices should you replace or improve to ensure optimal security. Furthermore, it is recommended by experts that you schedule these tests periodically to know for sure that all your technology is functional.

5. Enhance Your Access Control Policies and Procedures

Apart from acquiring cutting-edge access control technology, you can also optimize your business’ security by improving your access control policies and procedures. These access policies and procedures enable you to manage who, where, and when information can be accessed by certain individuals. As it does that, it also gives you an avenue to raise awareness to your employees about the importance of security.

Without a doubt, access control policies and procedures give you a standard on how to defend your organization’s data security and physical security. In addition to that, it also allows you to monitor, track, log, and audit every access made to your company computers, information systems, and physical premises. By enhancing these policies, you will be able to level up your security as well.

Evidently, there are a lot of things that you should cover when you’re working on your policies and procedures. But to help you get started, here are two fundamental factors that you should look into:

• Acceptable Use

Most often than not, employees are required to agree on an acceptable use policy before their access cards are given to them. With this policy, they are reminded to avoid inappropriate use of their access card privilege. That way, business owners can make sure that the employees are mindful not to expose the company to risks such as virus attacks and legal issues. In most cases, the Acceptable Use Policies (AUP) apply to employees, consultants, contractors, third party personnel, and temporary employees.

• Compliance Statements

Aside from the signing of AUP, it’s also recommended that organizations require users to sign a compliance statement before their access cards are issued. Once users affix their signature in this statement, it will serve as a written confirmation that the users understand and agree on the organization’s policies and procedures. Hence, it is undeniably a good idea to let employees sign a compliance statement before you grant them access to your building.

Most business organizations often require employees to sign the compliance statement annually. By doing that, they are able to ensure that the staff will be accountable when they fail to adhere to these rules and regulations.

6. Determine Your Building’s Access Levels

It’s a well-known fact among business owners that not everyone needs to be granted access in every room of their building. That’s why it has been a norm in organizations to set different levels of access in certain areas. But before you decide who should have what access, it’s vital that you determine the areas that need different security level beforehand. That way, you’ll be able to deter unauthorized access and ensure the security of your company assets.

As you can see, it’s crucial that the entire organization gets the right level of access according to their needs. In order to accomplish this easily, managed services recommend businesses to create a map of their building where they will be able to break down areas based on the level of security necessary. They can assign different colors to correspond to different access levels. By following this tip, you’ll be able to create a foolproof access control system plan for your building.

Bonus Information: How to Deter Unauthorized Access in Your Business Premises

No matter how advanced your access control systems are, it will still be useless if you don’t assign appropriate access levels in your business premises. For this reason, it’s important for every business owner to know how employee access levels should be determined.

Here’s how you can do this effectively:

• Assign Employee Access Level Based on Job Description

As mentioned earlier, employees don’t need access to everything so that they can perform their job effectively. That’s why it’s advised by experts that you assign employee access levels according to their job description. When you do this, you will be able to prevent employees from abusing their access privileges.

• Notify Security Administrators of Changes in Access Privileges

If you want to ensure the security of your business premises, you should always see to it that your security administrators are kept in the loop about the changes made in access privileges. This kind of transparency enables admins to revoke and modify access privileges when the need arises. Furthermore, this practice also allows them to regulate the non-employees who want to enter your business premises. 

In the business world, security is a top priority. That’s why it’s fundamental for business owners to strengthen their business’ access control systems.

Install the best access control system for your company now with the help of reputed IT service providers like House of I.T.