It’s important to do an annual audit on your access control systems in order to determine if they’re working as intended.
Whether you’re in charge of a warehouse, retail business, office space, or school—access control systems are one of your first lines of defense. Since these systems are in place to maintain security and safety within your facility, it’s important to run an annual audit on your access control systems to ensure that they are working as intended and are capable of keeping unauthorized individuals from gaining access to your facility.
Why should you perform an audit?
Your building’s access control systems are your first line of defense, so they need to be robust. Ensuring the security and safety of your facility begins right at the front door, and that means an access control system that keeps out unauthorized individuals. You should perform an audit regularly to determine if the system is working as intended and where any issues lie. If you do find any problems with the system, you’ll need to consider appropriate ways to alleviate these issues and keep access points secure.
What are some important points to note?
When performing an audit on your access control systems, you aren’t just checking to see if your card readers or other verification systems are operating. While this is a critical first step, an audit should dig much deeper into how these systems are operating and whether they are effectively keeping unauthorized individuals out of your facility.
The first thing you should determine is how many entry points your facility has—this should include doors as well as windows. You probably don’t have any access control systems on your windows, but they still need to be secured because they can be unauthorized access points. For most doors, there should be access control systems present in order to validate access to authorized personnel. You should also determine how doors and windows are secured when not in use. Whether it is manual or automated, it’s important to know if it is being handled properly or if your facility is being left vulnerable.
The next step is determining whether your access control systems are actually effective at keeping out unauthorized individuals. Look into the type of system you have and run AI-driven analytics on its operation in order to locate weaknesses. Determine if there has been unauthorized access, how the system was spoofed or tricked into allowing access, and consider solutions to minimize this risk.
What is tailgating?
One of the most common ways to spoof physical access control systems is through tailgating. Tailgating happens when an unauthorized individual gains entry to a facility through the credentials of an authorized user. In most cases, this is something as simple as an authorized user gaining access and holding the door or otherwise keeping the way open for the unauthorized individual. This can be one of the most difficult breaches to combat, so it’s best to determine who is gaining unauthorized access and whether it’s worth putting newer or more robust systems in place to make tailgating more difficult.
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