Enhancing Physical security
The momentous advancements in physical access control innovation in the last three and a half years were originally initiated by the new government mandates for stricter physical security at critical infrastructure properties. Established in some of the most high-risk, widespread and complex government credentialing projects, these new technologies are deployed as an attempt to transform the manner in which government and commercial organizations manage an individual's access to particular properties.
Amongst the most remarkable consequences of increasing security regulations within the government is the establishment of a physical access management security technology that has the ability to attain consistent access management and an interoperable level of trust for various locations across a specific property. This new technology has enabled private businesses as well as the government to easily separate credentialing functions from system policies in order to support a wide spread and well balanced, ground-up perspective on access management.
Not to mention that the administrative time and fees that are necessary to maintain site policies and technologies are greatly reduced through the deployment of this new approach. Through utilizing this new security technique one can be certain that all sites within an organization have a fair level of confidence that people are truly who they declare to be and are then given the same level of clearance based on pre-determined credentials.
Unfortunately, a high degree of security is not provided by the traditional access management methods that admit and restrict access depending on what a patron holds in his or her possession, such as a key, or information that they know, such as a pin security code. Giving access to whoever holds a specific element, such as an access card or key, without an extra means to verify the identity of the possessor, does not provide that much assurance that only authorized personnel can gain access to secured sites.
In addition to that, password- or PIN- based access management systems are not that great either. This is due to the simple fact that this method of security simply does not directly verify the identity of the individual attempting to gain access to a particular location. In another words, almost all types of keys and proximity cards as well as passwords, can easily be borrowed, stolen or shared.
The utilization of cards, keys and PINs within multi-site facilities tends to magnify the issues of security and directorial maintenance.
Separately administered locations within the same organization often demand an office to set up a new set of protocols and dispense a new set of cards, keys, or PINs to the same individual. The more security elements an individual owns, the more there are to misplace, lose or share with each occasion becoming a possible security violation.
Distinguishing Protocols from qualifications
The superlative standard of an extensive security system, which spans entire properties, is usually based on a monolithic back-end system for administering user provisioning and access guidelines across all locations and separate interfaces. However, when it really comes down to it, such wide-ranging interfaces are hardly ever deployed and may not even be the best setup for multi-site property. As an alternative, organizations can give themselves the flexibility to establish and selectively deploy policies that meet the unique needs of discrete sites through separating the user qualifications from the protocols. Not to mention that, the task of adding new individuals to a local system becomes extremely simple through, implanting the user identity data directly into a trusted credential (such as a biometrically enabled smart card utility).
The data of the user's identity can be scanned or picked up directly from the card without the need for the user to re-type it again. Also due to the fact that the credential also includes exclusive biometric data about the holder, it also is a far more secure and tamper-resistant type of verification that is superior to methods that utilize proximity cards, keys, or PINs.
Experimentally examined, governmentally permitted
Several security governmental departments as well as other high-risk associations have advised the security industry to establish new solutions to market that make credentialing large groups of people across different vicinities straightforward and easy to carry out especially after the tragic events of 9/11. In order to prevent acts of terrorism and related security violations the various governmental agencies specifically demanded the strongest level of authentication feasible. The majority of these necessities and needs were recently discussed in Phase III of the Transportation Security Administration's Transportation Worker Identification Credential project.
The industry's foremost experts on security and authentication put their efforts and vast experience together In this project in order to come up with a system-wide, common credential for all civilian workers across all transportation methods, including, airports, rail lines as well as seaports. This specific project was specifically established to enhance surveillance, improve commerce and protect personal confidentiality as well as providing workers with a tamper-resistant, biometric smart card to be utilized to gain access to surveyed locations.
Numerous reasons make TWIC the genuine case study for planning and establishing a company-wide credentialing system. For instance, the rate of the installments required technology vendors to accommodate vastly varied situations. On top of supplying potential support for more than five million employees in a predicted nationwide rollout, the variables included intricate physical landscapes and severe outdoor weather conditions such as rain direct sunlight and, extreme wind. Another significant learning experience revolved around educating large numbers of volunteer transportation workers on how to operate the credentialing technology throughout the pilot.
As soon as the layout and installment of TWIC were completed, non-governmental as well as governmental businesses had a real-world study on the actual steps involved in installing an interoperable qualifications framework across an entire association, in spite of the complexity of the scale or location.
According to the public sector technology analyst, Datamonitor in order to guarantee the safety of the country is extremely vital to guarantee that only authorized individuals can access critical infrastructure properties, such as ports and other access points to the country. Not to mention that an important component of an effective access control system relies on dependable, biometrically-enabled, weather-resistant access card scanners.
Moving on, many of the transportation facilities involved in the TWIC pilot had an existing physical access surveillance setup just like many private organizations. Moreover, the TWIC technology suppliers created the biometric smart card security system to be effortlessly incorporated with the existing infrastructure which is a good alternative to having to replace a site's legacy system. This method of deployment allows the locations to increase security by concurrently ensuring verification and access management. In addition to that, the TWIC also utilizes contactless, biometric smart card scanners for the convenience of the end-user. The cardholders simply have to wave their cards near the scanning device As opposed to having to physically sliding the card across the reader. After that they only have to apply a finger to the machine to further authenticate their identity.
An additional milestone government security proposal to keep in mind in the development of physical access management technology is the consequence of Homeland Security Presidential Directive (HSPD) 12, which is a protocol demanding a common flexible biometric smart card for all federal workers and contractors by next year. In order to comply with this protocol, the National Institute of Standards and Technologies established the (FIPS) 201 which stands for Federal Information Processing Standard, also known as personal identity verification (or PIV), to give the government organizations the ability to comply with this new security requirements. The personal identity verification or PIV, is an independent credentialing standard from TWIC, it is predicted to become the new interface of TWIC in phase four of the project.
The PIV identity administration system is attempting to exchange weak identity verification methods, such as a standard photo ID cards, with tamper resistant, biometrically enabled smart cards just like the measures taken by TWIC. This standard will allow the government to attain a higher interoperable trust level among geographically dispersed facilities. Like TWIC, a PIV-compliant access control deployment demands a federal worker to place a biometric smart card near a contactless scanner and establish contact with a sensor in order to scan and encode his or her fingerprint as a security measure.
It literally takes the reader only seconds to verify the worker's identity and a centralized server confirms the request, opening the gate or door in focus. Through utilizing a biometric credential, organizations virtually eradicate the threat of meddling with an employee's identity while enabling employees to carry a single credential instead of numerous cards of identification.
Effect on the Industry
The effect of TWIC on other major verifications and credentialing programs is already becoming obvious. Through its Florida Standard Port Access Management program, the state of Florida has decided to carry out biometric smart card verification in the 14 deep-water seaports of the state. In addition to that, Saflink Corp. has been chosen to supply the technology for mobile guard units as well as fixed security stations. The installation and initiation of all of these technologies began in 2005 and will continue through the coming year, providing a reference implementation for other ports presently looking into physical access enhancements.
Furthermore, many of the Government-tested security proposals that carry out identity management programs for the protection of critical infrastructure and terrorism deterrence, such as TWIC, will have a considerable effect on protocols of the business practice as well as the commercial infrastructures. This is can be clearly and obviously noted in the Florida state. Almost all organizations in virtually every vertical industry that have the desire and interest in advancing security by endorsing a large-scale credentialing program should consider TWIC as a reference for proven tactics and technologies for streamlining physical access management. Specifically speaking, Saflink's platform for contactless biometric smart cards has set an industry model for identity confirmation, interoperability and ease of operation.
Changes in the legislation, policy and regulatory that are aimed at increasing security for critical infrastructure properties and transportation modes are the main cause of the development and testing of extensive, flexible and "easy to add" products for improving physical access management. Rigorous, comprehensive trials of access technologies by the federal government in programs, such as TWIC, have been an essential step in further comprehending which technologies are able of credentialing large numbers of people across various geographical vicinities. The deployment of new approaches in these programs, such as the separation of security protocols from user credentials, has shown that it is possible to deploy more secure, more flexible and easier to administer security properties.
Although they were initially intended for the benefit of government organizations, TWIC and PIV offer the commercial sector with a clear indication that the technology to simplify and enhance the physical access security processes is present in our current time and age.
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