Corporate IT leaders often prioritize cybersecurity but must also address physical security, especially as smart building systems, mobile computing, and hybrid work patterns blend the realms of cyber and physical business systems. Managing on-premises occupants’ behaviors and identities is increasingly challenging yet crucial.
Cyber Risk of Physical Security
Physical security breaches can lead to significant cyber threats. Unauthorized access to a workplace can allow malevolent actors to gain network access through social engineering. Many data breaches result from physical security failures. Robust access control systems, especially cloud-based and centrally managed ones, are essential to protect both occupants and IT assets.
Consistency of Protection
Cloud-based SaaS computing enhances communication and data sharing across locations, boosting efficiency and productivity. Similarly, consistent physical security protocols across office locations prevent operational inefficiencies and security gaps. Disparities in access control systems among locations can lead to unmonitored breaches and increased operational costs.
Even with cloud-based systems, different installers and maintenance providers at various locations can introduce inconsistencies. Outsourcing physical security to a nationwide provider like Kastle ensures uniformity, central contact points, and shared protocols, reducing security risks and operational inefficiencies.
Cloud-Based Administration
Cloud-based access control systems, like Kastle’s, allow central management of physical security across multiple locations from a single dashboard, similar to cyber access rights systems like Microsoft Active Directory or Okta. Administrators can grant or revoke access, create door schedules, and implement lockdowns remotely, simplifying compliance auditing and activity analysis.
Identity Management Integration
Integrating physical access control with an identity management system enhances security and efficiency. Synchronizing access rights with a core identity management hub (like Microsoft Active Directory or Okta) ensures immediate activation or deactivation of access privileges, streamlining onboarding and eliminating any potential security time lapse between when an employee is terminated and when workplace access revoked. Kastle’s Access Control systems can seamlessly deliver this critical integration, providing consistent access security.
Monitoring and Data
Effective security systems require real-time monitoring to prevent breaches rather than merely investigating them after they occur. Larger businesses may run their own Security Operations Centers, but smaller businesses often allocate security monitoring to facility staff, which can lead to oversight gaps.
Outsourcing monitoring to dedicated experts, available 24/7, ensures continuous protection and immediate response to security threats. Kastle operates multiple Security Operations Centers, capturing and centralizing data activity for clients, facilitating occupancy analysis, auditing, and reporting.
Maintenance and Repair
Sophisticated security technology needs expert oversight and maintenance to perform effectively. While cloud-based systems allow for seamless software updates, they can’t monitor hardware functionality on-site. Dedicated security staff might be cost-prohibitive, and regional integrators can introduce inconsistencies and delays.
Kastle offers a comprehensive solution, maintaining peak system performance nationwide. With dedicated account teams and ownership of system repairs, clients benefit from continuous, reliable security management without additional costs.
Conclusion
In summary, IT managers must account for several key factors when assessing physical security technology. Cloud-based, centrally managed systems offer robust access control, consistent protection across locations, seamless integration with identity management, real-time monitoring, and comprehensive maintenance and repair solutions. Outsourcing to a nationwide provider like Kastle ensures uniform, efficient, and reliable physical security management, safeguarding both physical and digital assets.