Educational institutions are public institutions and therefore they shoulder a great responsibility of ensuring the security of students. A failure in the school security system can take a toll on children and lead to grave repercussions. They have a moral duty to ensure the safety of children and youth who are extremely gullible and vulnerable.
Since children at the given age may not be capable of understanding the difference between right and wrong, it is the school that owes the duty to them. It is imperative that schools beef up security by incorporating access controls in addition to different measures.
What is access control?
What do we mean by access control? Access control is basically a security system or framework which monitors or supervises a person by viewing numerous resources in an institution.
Access control techniques are commonly used in many business establishments. Over the years their popularity has grown and now organizations across different walks of life including schools and colleges are using them.
For schools, the access control techniques make use of login credentials such as personal identification numbers (PINs), security tokens, passwords, biometric scans or other authentication determinants and monitor different areas of the school.
Using this system, schools can identify, authenticate, supervise, as well as authorize individuals in charge of sundry duties. For extra defense schools also incorporate a multifactor authentication.
Access Control Systems for schools
When it comes to access control systems for schools; there are two types of access control viz. logical and physical. Logical access is used to keep intruders and unauthorized users from accessing connections to data, system files, and computer networks. On the other hand, physical access control restricts access to buildings, campuses, physical IT assets, and rooms.
There are electronic access control methods that can be used by schools to boost the security of the institutions, as well as electronic access control systems for commercial buildings. You can incorporate a user’s credentials, access card readers, audits and records into the system and keep a check on the staff and ensure controlled access to proprietary areas and locations.
Some electronic methods can be introduced in schools to restricting entry to buildings and rooms, alarms that can go off as well as lockdown capabilities in the event unauthorized person tryto barge in the area. Such security functions by recognizing an individual andverifying that the application or person is what or who they claim to be. It thenvalidates their access on the basis of a set of actions linked with the IP address or username.
Directory protocols and Local Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) and the Security Assertion Markup Language (SAML) etc can be used by schools have access controls for authorizing and authenticating users.
What are the types of Access Control Systems?
There are different types of access control systems that a school can implement in order to boost its security system. These are:
- Attribute-based Access Control (ABAC)
- Discretionary Access Control (DAC)
- Mandatory Access Control (MAC)
- Role-based Access Control (RBAC)
- Rule-based Access Control
Some measures need to be adopted to prevent an attack on a school’s security access control system such as:
- Multifactor Authentication
- Strong Password Policy
- Encrypt Password Files
- Limit Access to Systems
Conclusion
Sometimes the commonplace security systems such as security guard’s identification badges and video surveillance can fall short of a robust security system. Imposters can exploit the loopholes in these and try to break open.
Therefore, in addition to the basic school security plan that needs to be followed, the access control system should be put in place for every individual who has access to the school. This will ensure the safety of school going kids, teachers, staff and school visitors from external as well as internal harm.