RUDIE OPPERMAN Physical access control is increasingly intertwined with broader cybersecurity and network strategies
Physical security and information technology (IT) security teams are working more closely together to ensure that all the security needs of a business are considered and that a gap in one area does not affect the effectiveness of the other, says security network company Axis Communications engineering and training manager Rudie Opperman.
Physical access control solutions are becoming increasingly intertwined with the greater cybersecurity and network strategies. With this growing interdependence, a framework is emerging to establish physical access control devices on the same level and in the same way as the company’s connected software and hardware.
Inadequate and outdated legacy systems need to be replaced with modern tools.
Without collaboration and oversight from the IT security teams, physical access control systems run the danger of being the weakest link in the security chain. Organisations that want to implement the strongest security measures possible cannot view physical security with any less focus and importance than cybersecurity, he explains.
“In such a rapidly evolving threat landscape, investments in physical access control systems, once viewed in terms of longevity, cannot hope to keep up. Organisations face an increasing number of threats daily and it becomes crucial for physical equipment to be updated regularly to meet the evolving security needs of the organisation,” he says.
Various common access control systems are vulnerable to hacking, which has led IT departments to become increasingly involved in their organisations’ physical access control choices and implementations.
Although most larger enterprises have dedicated personnel to handle physical security, many are starting to regard the IT department as having a certain amount of responsibility with regard to physical access control within the business.
CIOs and IT heads are charged with leading not only the protection of network and information security programmes but also physical security initiatives to protect physical company assets and staff, Opperman emphasises.
This is a marked change in the way access control has been operated in the past, with a department in sole control of physical security. There is a definite trend towards access control solutions and physical security solutions shifting from a mostly siloed approach to a collaborative one, which is becoming a necessity for organisational security, says Opperman.
IT heads also have to shoulder more of the responsibility for budget allocations within the physical security domain.
This trend has driven cultural change within organisations, as department heads are charged with building relationships between the two disciplines. This involves setting out best practices to cover communications, as well as focusing on creating a holistic approach to security in terms of the cyber- and the physical elements.