Best Practices When Installing A Cryptographic Access Control System

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featured_accesscontrolpanelIf you read our last post, It’s Time For Your Yearly Access Control Check-Up, and you realized that it is time to upgrade your system to a Cryptographic Card Access Control System, we’ve got a few tips to help you pick the best one.

Below are a few of the best practices and security features you should consider when you upgrade to a cryptographic access control system:

  • Be sure to select a manufacturer that assigns a unique key to each of their customers or allows each of their customers to create a unique cryptographic authentication key. Some manufacturers use the same key across all of the systems they sell. That’s a security risk you don’t want to take. By creating your own key, you are protecting yourself from a possible compromise that could occur in someone else’s readers from the same manufacturer.
  • Choose a reader that protects the master key using a secure element like the Trusted Platform Module or Secure Access Module to store the cryptographic key.
  • When installing a new system, consider taking an extra step to protect the wiring. We recommend running the wiring through a conduit, especially in areas that are more vulnerable. This prevents the wires from being accessed by a hacker who is trying to intercept the messages to the card reader in an attempt to unlock the system or a hacker who is trying to gain access by cutting the wires.
  • Be sure the installation company you choose uses security screws to install the readers. Security screws require a special tool for removal and make it near impossible to remove the readers without that tool. If someone attempts to remove the readers with a regular screwdriver, the damage will be noticeable and will alert you to an attempted security breach.
  • Select a system with an anti-passback feature in the software. This will prevent the system from granting access to someone that is already inside the building. Someone who has duplicated an employee key or an employee who is attempting to share their access card with unauthorized personnel to access the building will be rejected and you will be notified. This also prevents tailgating and ensures you have a complete record of everyone entering and exiting the facility.
  • If you require an additional level of security, an additional requirement like a passcode or fingerprint reader can also be added. So someone attempting to gain access would have to have both their cryptographic encoded card as well as a their unique passcode or fingerprint to gain access.

If you’ve decided to make the upgrade to a cryptographic access control system, keep these tips in mind as you shop around. For more information on access control systems or to get a free consultation to discuss your specific security needs, contact us at Ring and Ping Communications today. Call us at (714) 617-4025 and we’ll send an expert technician out right away.

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