How secure is your access control platform?

By Courtney Emra, Lead Customer Service/Sales Assistant at Kenton Brothers

We all know that the perfect security solution doesn’t exist. But we must always do our best to provide strong security for our people, property, and possessions. Did you know that in just 60 seconds, a simple $10 device is able to copy unattended, lost, or stolen key cards? This effectively leaves a wide open door for hackers to enter your company, systems, etc.

Gallagher has won several awards for their cyber security solutions. They perform various testing procedures and public information regarding these tests can be found on CVE. Included in those resources, they also have a free Security Health Check tool that helps you understand and identify weaknesses within your system, hardware and even users.

Let’s take a look at “The Four Horsemen of a Security Breach” from Corey Russell, a System Engineer with Gallagher.

1. Network

It doesn’t matter how much you’ve spent on your system if you leave it wide open for people to find on the internet. The system itself is solid, but if your access control is out there, there’s a good chance some usernames and passwords wouldn’t be hard to come by. Secure your networks, keep them up to date, and make sure you have email phishing training; your IT admin will thank you. If at all possible, take your access control system to a private network. Seclude it on its own island like Tom Hanks in ‘Cast Away’.

2. Hardware

So, you have your network secure? Great! Now what kind of hardware are you using? Something as simple as a plunger switch on a cabinet can be bypassed and let someone short the lock to the back door. Do your cameras still use ‘username’ and ‘password’ for the login? Did you put resistors in line with the reader you hung on the wall? Lastly, did you leave the keys in the cabinet lock because Steve keeps losing them? Get Steve a retractable key chain and make sure your hardware is as secure as your network.

3. Software

With our network secure and our hardware locked down, let’s talk software. We need to make sure we have complex passwords and, no, ‘P@ssw0rd’ is not a secure password. Make sure software is kept up to date. Look to use a platform that puts security first and offers additional tools to secure your network and hardware.

4. People

This one is the hardest. People are predictable… until they’re not. Training staff and enforcing policies can be difficult. That’s why having a system that can help you mitigate the exposures people are sure to cause is a must.

Gallagher offers something called competencies which restrict people from even entering certain areas without valid, up to date certification on their record. Out of the box you can utilize broadcast notifications to get important messaging out to everyone with a push of a button, control how many people can be in one area, or how long any person can stay in that area. Track assets utilizing the readers already on the wall. The list goes on and on. Can your current security platform do that?

Now that you have a pretty good understanding of what’s happening in the threat landscape, do you still feel confident in your current system? We would love to do a commercial security audit of your system and help you plug any holes we find. Just give us a call!