Today, protecting your office premises from authorized access supersedes the use of locks and keys. You need a more robust and efficient office access control system that allows you to keep your business facility, staff, and resources safe from all forms of threats.
Office access control systems are security mechanisms and technologies that allow you to monitor and authorize visitors to enter your business premises. As an employer, regardless of your business type, industry and size, you’re saddled with the safety of your employees, resources, and business facility. In addition, it’s important to protect your corporate resources, tangible and intangible, from all forms of unauthorized access, loss, and compromise.
Since safety begins at your office’s entry point, access control systems help you to mitigate risks and security threats by giving you seamless control over who’s allowed into your company office, where they can go, and what resources they can use while they’re on your property.
In this post, we highlight 3 common types of access control systems which can help you enhance the security of your office, staff, and corporate resources.
Mandatory Access Control (MAC) Systems
Mandatory access control (MAC) systems are very restrictive and rigid. Only the system administrator can control and manage access permissions and privileges, leaving the end-user with no control at all.
As a system administrator, MAC systems allow you to create and classify the end-users are based on preconfigured settings, which determine where these users can go and what resources they can use.
If you run a large business with vast volumes of confidential data and sensitive information to store, transmit and protect, a mandatory access control system is your best bet.
Discretionary Access Control (DAC) Systems
Opposite of MAC systems, discretionary access control is known as the most flexible and least restrictive type of office access control system. DAC systems allow the end-users to determine the level of security they desire. This means that every end-user has total control over the system, and can easily configure and modify access permissions based on their discretion.
However, the flexibility and level of control in discretionary access control may also expose the system to vulnerabilities as the end-users may unsuspectingly or intentionally grant access to malicious users, who may attack the system. This is why DAC systems are unsuitable for bigger organizations and corporations that deal with classified information, highly sensitive data, and a large volume of corporate resources.
If you’re an entrepreneur with a small office, few employees, and flexible security needs, a discretionary access control system may just suffice for you because of its simplicity, convenience, and flexibility.
Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) Systems
Also known as non-discretionary access control systems, role-based access control (RBAC) systems allow the system manager to grant access to users based on their roles or positions in the office.
Rather than assign access permissions to unique individuals, RBAC systems let you assign access to specific job titles in your organization. For example, instead of assigning access permissions to the guy who’s the security team leader, you assign the access privileges to the office of the security manager.
If you’re a security administrator overseeing a residential or commercial property, you’ll definitely enjoy the adaptability, simplicity, and ease of use that RBAC offers!
