Page 78 - Security Today, October 2018

UNIFIED SOLUTIONS
WHY CAMPUS ENVIRONMENTS
SHOULD CHOOSE A UNIFIED SOLUTION
Campuses face a variety of challenges when securing their facilities By Kim Rahfaldt
visitors is essential. How do you know who is entering your building? Employees, visitors, contractors, delivery drivers, etc. all need access, and understanding the level of threat they bring is critical.
What is the best way to tackle these chal- lenges? The following five steps can guide you: 1. Perform a risk assessment to determine
your security needs.
2. Develop a comprehensive security plan
based on risk assessment results.
3. Identify technologies and security pro-
grams that will meet the needs of the campus, including meeting compliance requirements. 4. Consider how a unified security plat-
form provides the best choice to mitigate risk, reduce cost and increase compliance.
5. Always plan for the future as you map out your security plan for today.
RISK ASSESSMENT
Think about what you are trying to protect and what you want to protect it from. In a campus environment, this could mean pro- tecting students or patients from active shoot- ers. Work with a consultant, integrator or even a manufacturer to complete. They can help you identify the resources you want to protect, and how likely the resources will be exposed to risks.
SECURITY PLAN
Once you define what you are protecting, how will you protect it? What combination of technology, people and programs will be effective? Should other departments get involved in the plan? Risk and Compliance, HR, IT and security, plus other departments should have input at this stage to provide a holistic plan.
IDENTIFY TECHNOLOGIES
Your risk assessment will determine which technologies you need to properly secure your campus. A unified solution delivers a compre- hensive solution where you work with one company. The following technologies offer the best solutions for a campus environment.
IDENTITY MANAGEMENT
Do you know who is on your campus and why? Do they have access to the areas they should, and more importantly not have access
Campus environments experi- ence many challenges when it comes to securing their facili- ties. University environments need to find the right balance between having an open environment and a secure environment. Students need to feel secure, but don’t want to feel like their resi- dence hall is restrictive. The many entry points on a campus mean lots of cameras and
access readers. How do you prioritize and budget for a secure environment?
Healthcare campus environments are con- cerned with child abduction, aggressive patients and who has access to pharmaceuti- cal closets. Maintaining a secure—yet open—environment is also challenging because people are coming and going at all hours of the day.
In commercial environments, managing
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CAMPUS SECURITY & LIFE SAFETY