In the post-9/11 world, access control has become ubiquitous, especially in the corporate world where thousands of people stream into and out of individual office buildings every day.
Workers equipped with access cards enter through turnstiles, actual and virtual, or gain entry into buildings through card-controlled doorways. A swipe of a card allows the cardholder access. But what is there to prevent the wrong person from using someone else’s card to gain admission to the site?
A form of identity theft, if you will, card user fraud takes place when a person who isn’t the actual cardholder enters a building under false pretenses. Security personnel may react when an unfamiliar face comes through the entryway, even if the card still works. But in a setting such as a corporate headquarters, where hundreds of people are converging on the entrance at one time, security may not be able to visually identify illegal card users. And even if they can, they want to ensure that the flow of people continues unimpeded.
Fortunately, technology has advanced to the point where, through the unification of video management and access control systems, security personnel can stay on top of potential identity fraud at the point of access. Unification means that personnel can avoid operating multiple programs, having to toggle between various screens or stopping everyone to determine whose access is being denied.
Consider the example of the corporate office building. At the height of the morning rush, dozens of people may be passing through the access point each minute. Under the unified “swipe and show” technology, a security officer will see an image of each individual card user from the database as they pass through the access point, and can use that to visually compare it with what they are seeing live. If there is an anomaly, they can pull the person aside and verify their identity without stopping the flow of other entrants.
Additionally, policies programmed into each cardholders’ access information may trigger alerts for security personnel. For example, if someone is entering at the correct time with an active credential, the officer will see an image in the software with a green border. But if the person has broken a policy, such as trying to gain access after hours or through the wrong door, the border may appear as yellow for a minor violation that still allows them access, but needs to be addressed in person; or red, which means access is denied.
Remote access is another application for the “swipe and show” technology. The security officer in the control center sees both the image on file as well as live video as a person seeks entry at the remote location and has the ability to react quickly to allow or deny admission.
While the focus is on proper identification, the side benefits of “swipe and show” are that access continues seamlessly for those who should be allowed entry and security personnel have yet another tool for quick and easy card fraud prevention.
Contact MCC’s Security Solutions Division to learn more!