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Access control systems are security measures that regulate who are allowed to enter a building or a restricted area within a building. They help ensure that only authorized individuals have access to sensitive areas while keeping out unauthorized individuals.
Types of access control systems
1. Standalone access control systems
An access control system can greatly benefit a business by improving security, enhancing efficiency, and providing detailed information about who has entered the building or a restricted area.
Barry Bros offer an advanced range of access control systems including –
- Card-based systems: In this type of system, employees are issued with a card or a key fob that they must present to a reader to gain access to a restricted area. The reader then checks the card’s information against a database to determine if the employee is authorized to enter the area.
- Biometric systems: This type of system uses physical characteristics, such as fingerprints, iris scans, or facial recognition, to grant access. The biometric data is collected when the employee is first enrolled in the system and is used for verification purposes every time the employee tries to gain access.
- Code-based systems: In this type of system, employees are given a code that they must enter into a keypad to gain access. The code is then checked against a database to determine if the employee is authorized to enter the area.
Access control systems can prevent unauthorized individuals from accessing sensitive areas such as data centers, research labs, or financial departments. They can also help businesses keep track of who has entered a building and at what time, making it easier to investigate security incidents.
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Furthermore, businesses can use access control systems to limit the access of employees to certain areas based on their job functions, which helps to minimize the risk of theft or other security breaches.
2. Network-based access control systems
- Discretionary access control system [DAC]
Discretionary Access Control (DAC) grants or denies access to resources based on the discretion or permission of the owner or administrator of the resource. In other words, the owner of the resource has the authority to determine who is allowed to access it and what they are allowed to do with it. This helps to ensure the security and confidentiality of the resources being protected.
- Mandatory access control system [MAC]
Mandatory Access Control (MAC) enforces security policies based on a centralized set of rules and criteria. It operates by restricting access to resources based on the classification and clearance of subjects and objects. The administrator has complete control over the security policies, and users cannot change or bypass them.
- Role-based access control system [RBAC]
RBAC is a system of deciding access to network or computer resources depending on the roles of employees within an enterprise. In RBAC, permissions to access resources are assigned to roles, rather than to individual users. Users are then made members of the appropriate roles, and through those role memberships, they acquire the permissions to access the resources needed to perform their job functions.
The choice of access control system type will depend on your business needs but ensure to find a reliable system provider!
