What is an Access control system?
Access control system is a system that keeps a check and provides access control on the physical and logical resources of an organization by authorizing or revoking the rights. Access control system are categorized under four forms which are mandatory, discretionary, rule based and role based.
Types of access control system
Access control system are classified in two ways: physical access control system and logical access control system. Physical access control system restricts the access to buildings, IT rooms, campuses, etc. Logical access control system restricts the access to file, program, database, computers, etc.
The logical access control have include various permission levels such as file permission which governs the creation, reading, editing or deleting a file on the file server; program permissions which governs the execution of a program on the application server; and data rights which governs the retrieval and updating information in databases. The physical access control have include mechanism to restrict or control the entry in the building premises by the means of electronic cards, HID proximity cards and proximity key fobs. Access system is also used to control access within the interiors of the buildings. And thus the advantage of access control system is to provide quick access to authorized people and at the same time provide security by restricting unauthorized people from the access.
How access control system function?
To understand the functioning of access control mechanism, let’s take an example of HID proximity cards. HID proximity cards are used for providing physical access control. These cards are fitted with robust physical access control mechanism. These cards are also known as access control cards and contains programming commands that are readable by the proximity card reader and governs and regulates the physical access. Each card comprises of an integrated circuit containing programming features. Proximity cards are not run by any battery or power source, rather they uses radio frequency signal which are transmitted by a transmitter. When the proximity card is in the area of proximity reader, the proximity card reader reads the programming data from the HID proximity cards. And once the program is successfully implemented, physical access is granted.
Advantages of access control system
Access control system has gained vast popularity and has revolutionized the concept of providing security. Not only in the form of electronic cards, but access control system have expanded its horizon in the form of voice recorders, key codes, fingerprint identifiers, swipe cards, etc. There are lot of advantages associated with the use of access control system as access control system provides entrance on the basis of identification and thus it finishes the need of physical keys which can be easily lost, forgotten or copied. And as these access method is extremely difficult to be copied, it protects from thefts, burglars etc. Access control are highly customizable and thus users can pre-defined access rights to specific users and can also set user-defined access levels. Moreover access control system creates audit logs which are indeed very useful for security purpose. And in event of some theft, robbery, or compliance breaching cases, the audit logs helps in tracking the suspicious person in the family or in the organizations.