Cybersecurity and identity management will be two key access control trends in 2021. This note examines both in detail.

It goes without saying that access control has increasingly shifted to IP. Devices like access control readers and controllers are essentially networked points on the Internet.

This offers many benefits, including providing more remote management capabilities to operators and providing more information about the overall state of the end-user entity.

However, this also introduces new risks. As with other network devices, IP access control systems are as vulnerable to cyberattacks and intrusions as other network finalpoints. There have been cases, for example, where hackers have installed malware on network access control devices, which have subsequently launched denial-of-service attacks on other systems.

This in turn underscores the importance and urgency of access control security, which has become and will continue to be a dominant trend in access control. “Everyone in our industry has finally received and is acting with the message of cyber security.”Cyber ​​threats can cause significant damage to businesses, and end-users know they need to invest to ensure that their products, systems and processes are not vulnerable to cyber-attacks,” said John Davies, MD of TDSi.

“Cyber ​​security should be a major concern for everyone, because all access control systems are connected these days, unless they are specifically set up as isolated, offline systems (SCIFs) which are rare.  “Since everything / every place is connected, the lack of cyber security means a lack of physical security, period,” said Steve Humphreys, CEO of Identiv.

“Cyber ​​security will be absolutely one of the top concerns for buyers and users when choosing an access control system.”There will be no talk of any new technology in an organization, whether it is access control or not, that will no longer be involved or will have information and IT security as a major stakeholder,” said Jason Hart, CEO of Safetrust.