Is It Time to Replace Or Revamp Your Access Control System?

Is It Time to Replace or Revamp Your Access Control System? Build your team, evaluate possible integration with current systems, and select the right product for your building: These are the steps to follow if your existing access control system needs to be updated. There are many compelling reasons for replacing or upgrading an access control system. Perhaps the system has reached end of life, no longer meets the need, or there is a desire to move to the cloud. In any case, it's important to give careful consideration to the selection of a new system so that it will be a long-term security asset. Once the decision is made to replace the access control system, a multi-disciplinary team should be formed to select the system that best meets the needs of the building or campus. The team should identify the facilities that will get the system and determine use, functionality, important features, card reader types, credential usage, alarm monitoring, and alarm response. Important add-on systems to consider include intercoms, alarms, door-release buttons, visitor management systems, and use of advanced credentials such as pin pads, smart phones, biometrics, or facial recognition. All of these add-on systems should interface with and be supported by the new access control system. There are many access control systems on the market today and all have strengths and weakness. When evaluating manufacturers, consider: company reputation, video management integration, access control system features, mobile capabilities, system demonstration, multi-site product architecture, certified integrators, references, reporting, and favorable pricing. A very important consideration is integration with your existing or new video management system and visitor management system. Most systems today can integrate, so alarm events will automatically pull up video showing what caused the alarm. Having the ability to track visitors using the access control system can also be valuable. Some sophisticated visitor management systems today can integrate with access control systems so all door transactions will be managed and recorded in one system. Once a preferred access control system has been identified, try to arrange a visit with similar organizations that have the same system. Critical stakeholders, including IT, security, and operations, should ideally see the system in operation during these visits. Upgrading your access control system is far less complex and less expensive than replacing it; nevertheless, having a detailed upgrade plan is very important. Ideally, the upgrade should be performed in a virtual test environment. The system should be tested until all team members are comfortable the upgrade wo not break critical operations. Upgrading the system in the live environment should be done off hours, typically starting around 8:00 p.m. It should be done on a weekday so that if issues occur, team members will be readily available and able to respond rapidly. Once the upgrade is completed, card readers, visitor management, alarm integration, camera integration, and other systems should be tested. Not all tests are perfect, and issues may pop up when employees and visitors start to arrive at work. Therefore, a dedicated team of support personnel should be available and actively monitoring the systems as employees start arriving for work. It is good practice to stay one or two minor upgrades behind and let the manufacturer sort out issues experienced by bleeding-edge adopters. It is also good practice to stay up to date with major upgrades. For example, if the latest version of the software is 5.4, you should be on 5.2, and you should definitely not be on 3.4. Daniel O'Neill () is the founder and CEO of Advanced Data Risk Management (ADRM), a risk management and security engineering company.

1. Setting Access-Control-Allow-Origin in .htaccess for Https protocol

I had to create a .php so that I request the file through request.php?f=main.jpg instead of requesting it directly like domain.com/main.jpgIt's a little ugly work around but it works. Of course I had to add the header Access-Control-Allow-Origin like this. That way I do not need to specify that header in .htaccess file

2. Access control options: a guide to electric lock solutions

Access control, one of the key components of a comprehensive security solution, comes in many different varieties. Essentially there are two components, the lock (i.e. the physical mechanism keeping the door locked) and the access control system (such as a card reader, biometric reader, keypad etc, which opens the lock). In this post we will take a look at the lock component, specifically within electric locks. Electric locks are already widely adopted in the States and much of Europe, and their use is growing fast in Asia too as companies and individuals realize electric locks provide a safe and secure solution for access control. Below are the three main types of electric locks on the market. Taking into account the safety, security, convenience and aesthetics of each type, we will provide you with an overview of the options available. Most electric locks can be set to function in one of the following ways: Fail-safe: in the event of a loss of power supply, the lock will automatically unlock, ensuring that people can still exit through the door (safety first) in the event of a loss of power supply, the lock will automatically lock, meaning people are unable to enter (or exit) through the doo r It therefore only takes a loss of power to make a fail-safe lock ineffective. Of course there can be a battery backup supply installed, but the battery will have a limited lifespan, perhaps not more than a couple of hours, which limits the time available for the power supply issue to be resolved. Fail-secure locks are therefore better for doors which require higher security, but carry greater risk for safety as there could be people trapped inside the building. Accounting for about 80% of the electric locks in use, mag-locks operate by an electromagnetic strip attached to the door frame which aligns with an armature attached to the door. The lock can be fail-safe (whereby the electromagnet releases the armature) or fail-secure (whereby the electromagnet attracts the armature) depending on the use and safety standards. Mag-locks are relatively simple to install and are cost effective in terms of procurement and installation. They are also fast to operate and can withstand significant mechanical force. Fail-safe locks, which are most commonly adopted, require a constant supply of electricity to remain locked therefore making them slightly more expensive to run due to continuous electricity consumption. Moreover, if a mag-lock is continuously locked for a long time, it can be difficult to open. Another disadvantage is that the lock is essentially just a magnet so can be easily tampered with using everyday metal objects. Electric strike locks account for around 10-15% of the electric locks in use. These locks are secured via a mechanical lock within the door and door frame which is connected to an electricity supply, The lock is therefore released if the access control device is activated (instead of using a key in traditional mechanical locks). Like mag-locks, electric strike locks can be set as fail-safe or fail-secure. The major advantage of electric strike locks is that because the lock component works like a standard mechanical lock, the lock can be set such that it can be opened from inside using a handle. An electric strike lock can therefore be set as fail-secure, but still allow people inside the building to exit safely, without needing to install a break glass or release button inside. Locks can also be installed with a key lock option enabling the door to be unlocked mechanically too (particularly in case of a loss of power on a fail-secure lock). Electric strike locks tend to be more expensive and more complicated to install as they require various components and wiring. Moreover, if the door can be opened with just the handle from the inside (rather than a release button) then it is impossible to track exits through the door on the access control system. Wireless locks essentially work like a strike lock in terms of the mechanics, but the access control element is contained within the lock system on the door itself. It is therefore battery powered and the lock released via wireless technology. Electric locks have fewer components so are cleaner looking and easier to install. This means that they can be easily added to a door at any stage on site construction (unlike wired doors which can be difficult to install after a site is complete). They do not require a break glass or push button device to override the lock like in mag-locks and electric strike locks. In addition, wireless locks only use electricity when the lock is being opened resulting in less energy consumption while safe and secure at all times. Although a wireless lock can be slightly more expensive option initially, they require less maintenance making them a cost effective option in the long run. As a battery powered device, users should be alert and responsive to when the lock's battery is running low, as if not replaced, the lock will not be able to be opened electronically. For a more detailed overview of wireless locks and their capabilities, download this white paper. Before you make any decisions about what lock is best for your site, it's important to first think carefully about what your site requires in terms of safety and security, and to evaluate how risk can be reduced to ensure that security related incidents wo not interrupt your business operations. Another key consideration is the state of the site itself: if you are adding access control to a site after its completion, it may be easier (and certainly more cost effective) to opt to use wireless locks as installing all the components and wires for mag-locks and electric strike locks will require a lot of additional time, labor and effort. Some end-user opt for a combination of locks, installing a mag-lock and an electric strike lock on a single door to ensure that it is safe, secure and is able to accurately record movements of people in and out of the door at all times. However, in this case, it may just be simpler and more cost effective to install a wireless lock. If you still are not sure what type of lock and access control system best meets your needs, feel free to get in touch with one of our experts via . Watch out for future articles about types of access control.

3. BLP Lattice-structered system from Access Control Matrix

If I recall correctly, BLP is an example of a MAC (mandatory access control) system, while the access matrix you post is a simple RBAC system. You can not necessarily 'convert' between the two. MAC is based on the idea of labels (secret, top-secret etc), preventing information flow in certain directions between labels. RBAC is a completely 'flat' system; users are given rights to objects without regards to information flow.So, you can not 'convert' the access matrix, but you can arrive at a lattice based on the access matrix by 'inventing' the extra information needed. Try to categorize the objects into MAC levels, and then assign users to those levels. You may arrive at conflicts: a user that has write access to a lower level (which violates the no-write-down property of BLP). Perhaps you could split the user in two, but in reality you would not want people using multiple accounts. Another solution is to upgrade the classification of some objects, but that may give rise to new conflicts.