Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Security with Biometric Fingerprint Access Control System

Biometric Fingerprint Access Control System offers a higher level of security than card access Control systems, while providing the added convenience of not having to carry a card. Security is enhanced over card only systems, since biometric readers identify people, not cards. In the past, only the highest security facilities were an application for biometric technology.  As technology has improved and costs for biometric systems have come more into line with traditional card reader systems, Biometric systems have become more commonplace.  Tutis Technologies provides Biometric systems for our clients who desire a higher level security solution than just card access, for those who do not want to issue or carry cards.

Biometric Access control systems have a central brain (controller or panel) that sends instructions to locking hardware of various kinds. When an individual presents themselves at a controlled door and requests entrance, the access control system panel searches an internal database and determines whether or not that individual is authorized to enter. Upon entry, the system logs a date and time stamp with the identity of the individual so that a complete access history is stored. These logs can later be used for reference, to run reports, or any other function required by the owner.

Biometric Access Control Systems have revolutionized the way organizations control entry to designated areas of a facility. Many problems exist when relying on traditional keys and similar devices since they can easily be copied or sometimes stolen for long periods of time prior to the owner realizing they are gone. Access control systems provide many advantages and benefits that are not available through other authentication methods including history logs, scheduled access times and dates of secure areas, ability to add or delete users in real time, and many other useful tools. In every secure facility or secure area in a facility, access control systems enhance the security posture.

The most secure form of commonly used access control system authentication is accomplished using biometric sensors. Finger print readers, iris scanners, and retina scanners are common biometric-style sensors that use unique biometric identifiers to distinguish an individual. These types of sensors increase the sophistication and cost of the system, but provide an extremely high level of security. Proximity cards and similar devices offer extraordinary advantages when compared to using traditional keys, but can also be lost or stolen. On the contrary, biometric sensors rely on unique, physical characteristics of each authorized user ensuring they are present when requesting entry from the access control system.

One of the most commonly used access control system functions is the history log. This characteristic is very effective when trying to identify who entered a controlled area and when. Some organizations run access reports regularly and others simply enjoy the ability to access this information when needed, but it has proven to always be an appreciated system feature. Unlike security systems that rely on keys, an access control system records whose credentials were used to enter a controlled door every time someone enters or exits (assuming the system includes and requires an individual to query a reader to exit an access controlled space). There are many other benefits that access control systems provide that we will explore in future blogs.




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