Page 80 - Security Today, September 2017

In the Clouds How big is too big; the sky is the limit
BCy Jeffery Perri
loud solutions are changing the way businesses oper- ate at almost every level. Their ease of implementa- tion, access from anywhere and cost-effective pricing are making them the preferred solution for everything from marketing platforms to payroll administration
to project management. Now, security solutions are joining this pop- ular trend, including access control “in the cloud.”
Cost-conscious small- to medium-sized companies have been quick to embrace the many benefits of hosted access control. Larger, enterprise organizations, however, have been more guarded. With hundreds, or even thousands, of doors and access points, cloud solu- tions have the potential to deliver enormous savings, but concerns over whether the technology is truly “ready-for-prime-time” may have kept larger entities from taking the leap.
Until now.
A new generation of cloud-based access control solutions that offer centralized management, combined with redundant and de- centralized system topology, highly secure communications, an open API for easy integrations, and complete “manage from anywhere” flexibility, matches the wish list of any large corporate IT or IS man- agement team. System integrators have equal reason to take note; cloud-based access is highly cost-effective, significantly easier to in- stall and configure, and allows integrators to play a more proactive role in providing on-going support.
Security That’s Actually Secure
A majority of CIOs and CTOs will tell you that concerns over cy- bersecurity threats are what keep them up at night. Combine that
with the fact that between 80 to 90 percent of all cyber-attacks on small to medium-sized businesses are happening through their se- curity infrastructure, and it’s no wonder enterprise businesses are leery of trying new solutions. In reality, it’s the tried-and-true stand- alone, network-based physical security software and devices that have proved to be most vulnerable. Attacks through video surveil- lance software, IP cameras and access control software have been well documented.
New cloud-based access control solutions that have been de- signed, from the ground up, with a security-first mindset can deliver in ways that IP-based solutions, that were designed 10 years ago and are now being retroactively adapted for cloud applications, cannot. For example, a 100 percent cloud solution should eliminate the need for public IP addresses to connect to, and opening ports across the network. This is a huge contrast to leading stand-alone IP access con- trol solutions on the market, for which phishing websites can easily lead hackers right to the log-in screen for their systems.
New hosted solutions can also require hardware-specific authen- tication before connection with the cloud. A smart manufacturer will make sure that each customer’s system connects to the cloud using a unique key embedded in its hardware, so that even if one server is compromised, the rest of its customers are not vulnerable.
Cloud solutions, as well as any access control solution, can (and should) require two factor authentication for all users with adminis- trative privileges. A system that requires a combination of biometric data, texting codes or even physical hardware keys is going to go a long way toward ensuring that the wrong people don’t gain access to the system.
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ACCESS CONTROL
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