According to the FBI Crime Data Explorer, more than 500,0000 burglaries targeted U.S. businesses in 2024.
To help limit their risk, many companies spend on security systems that include cameras, speakers, and sensors. But a persistent challenge remains: Uncontrolled access. Even the best security system can’t protect privacy and data if companies don’t have full visibility into who’s coming in, who’s going out, and which areas they can access.
Comprehensive access control can help your business reduce overall risk, enhance audit readiness, and maintain compliance. Here’s how.
Identifying the Challenges of Uncontrolled Access
Digital security is now a paramount concern for companies. Organizations devote significant time and effort to ensuring user access is gated, monitored, and managed.
Physical controls, however, often fall by the wayside. While security cameras and sensors are now familiar features of office buildings, warehouses, and banks, per-person access control isn’t always a priority.
Uncontrolled access creates three common challenges:
1. Consistency
If businesses don’t have a way to track entries and exits — and link these actions to specific individuals — they can’t create a consistent security policy. Consider a warehouse with multiple staff access doors. If these doors share a communal key and no further verification is required for entry, security policies are almost impossible to enforce.
Employees may inadvertently hold the door open for other staff who don’t have access to protected areas or allow customers to enter potentially dangerous areas. For these types of incident investigations, CCTV footage offers a starting point, while access controls provide more in-depth analysis.
2. Clarity
When issues occur, security and management teams need clarity. They need to know who did what and when to determine why events happened and pinpoint how they can be addressed.
Without access controls, clarity becomes a challenge. Let’s expand on the example above. Four employees return from lunch and enter through an exterior door. Only one needs to use their key, since no further authentication is required.
Once inside, the employees disperse. All return to their stations except one, who has just learned their position will be terminated. Instead of going back to work, they enter a secure room, activate a terminal, and delete critical data. While the timing of the incident leads investigators to believe it was one of the four employees who returned, the lack of interior access controls means there is no visibility into who accessed the sensitive data.
3. Continuity
Last is continuity. This involves understanding the location of employees and customers at all times within your building. Losing continuity means losing track of individuals inside your building for any period. Even if this loss is just a few minutes, it can create problems for security audits or compliance evaluations.
For example, banks and other financial institutions are required to meet security due diligence standards under requirements such as FINRA. Part of these requirements include physical defenses such as access controls and security monitoring tools. If a post-incident regulatory review finds that companies don’t have effective access control devices and policies in place, the result could be sanctions, fines, or other civil actions.
Exploring the Benefits of Customized Access Control
Businesses have always had some form of access control. The most common remains in use today: Locks and keys. Only staff members with keys could lock or unlock doors and gain access to buildings.
This system isn’t foolproof, however. For example, if staff forget to lock up after work, or if criminals manage to steal and copy keys, property and information are at risk.
Customized access controls provide additional security without impacting usability. Access controls may include RFID cards, PINs, or biometric authentication such as fingerprints. In combination with a commercial video surveillance system and alarms, customized access control allows companies to see exactly what’s happening, when it happens.
Customized solutions offer multiple benefits, including:
Easy administration
Advanced tools offer both on-premises and cloud-based administration. This lets security teams log in and manage access controls anywhere, anytime.
If they are on-site, they can log into on-prem tools to review entries and exits for the day. If they are on the road or working remotely, they can use cloud-based admin consoles to track entries or respond to access alerts.
Real-time monitoring
Security systems are naturally reactive. When armed, they respond if doors are opened or windows are broken. Depending on the type of security technology used by your company, response times may vary from a few minutes to an hour or more, especially if you’re using legacy technologies that don’t naturally connect to the cloud.
Next-generation access control solutions alert security staff in real-time if someone attempts to access your facility without proper clearance or fails the authentication checks provided. This immediate response lets your team take immediate action to resolve the issue.
Secure tech infrastructure
Access technologies are only effective if the data they send and receive is protected from outside observation. Solutions that include a combination of AES and TLS encryption ensure that user data cannot be accessed or changed during the authentication process.
Both reduce the risk of data compromise and help businesses remain compliant.
Seamless integration with existing systems
Access control solutions are one part of a larger security process. As a result, integration with existing systems such as video surveillance systems and security alarms is critical. In tandem, these technologies can help your company control who enters restricted areas and take action as needed to secure facilities or notify law enforcement.
Recognizing the Role of Access Control in Compliance and Audits
While access control provides peace of mind for business owners, it also plays a key role in regulatory compliance and security audits.
Regulatory compliance
Businesses are now subject to multiple regulatory frameworks that require strong security.
For example, under GDPR and the CCPA, businesses must protect the personal data of customers. While this data is typically stored digitally, physical access to server rooms also poses a potential risk. Access controls on entry points to server rooms or data center facilities form a critical part of effective compliance.
Companies must also navigate evolving standards such as the Cyber Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) 2.0. Any company working with federal agencies such as the Department of Defense (DoD) in any capacity must meet Level 1, 2, or 3 CMMC standards, depending on the type of information handled. Regular assessments of both digital and physical security measures are required to earn and maintain this certification.
Security audits
Access controls also help ensure you’re audit-ready. These audits may be at the request of compliance agencies, business partners, or self-initiated to ensure robust security. Along with alarm records and CCTV footage for audit requests, companies must also capture and store access control data.
The goal of these audits is to ensure continuity and traceability. To pass, companies must demonstrate the ability to track a piece of data or a user with access to secure resources from start to finish across systems and applications. This is because blind spots break the data chain of custody — if your team can’t see who accessed what, and why, they can’t confirm exactly what happened to your data.
Creating Customized Controls
Since 2006, 2 Krew Security and Surveillance has been helping companies design, deploy, and integrate access control solutions. Whether you need a single-door setup, require complex, multi-access infrastructure, or are looking for complete video surveillance system installation in PA, we have the expertise and experience to get it done right.
Take control of your access with 2Krew. Let’s talk.
