Scope & Challenges
Efficient and reliable access control procedures for sensitive areas and facilities present a challenge to any business, regardless of its nature and scale.
Access control systems ensure the following:
- Safety of employees and visitors;
- Protection of inventory, equipment, property and other assets;
- Streamlined personnel management - when combined with T&A features.
The key functions performed by access control solutions are as follows:
- Identification of employees coming to or leaving the company's offices or facilities;
- Identification of visitors following a specified route within a protected area;
- Access restriction to highly secure areas (zones) (production facilities, inventories, etc.);
- Access to depositary boxes and safes;
- Protection of apartments and hotel rooms from unauthorized access;
- Identification of visitors of trade and entertainment facilities and simplified servicing (frequent visitor privileges, prevention of access by malicious persons, prevention of selling liquor to minors, etc.)
Popular Technologies
The above functions can be implemented through multiple identification technologies, including automated user identification through the following parameters:
- Contact and contactless cards, tokens, etc.;
- PIN-code;
- Biometric identifiers.
The above identifiers can be used either separately or in combination.
Why Biometrics?
Biometric solutions, especially when combined with other identification methods, ensure the highest level of accuracy and data protection by confirming users' rights and permissions. Biometric identifiers cannot be lost, forgotten, shared, stolen or counterfeited, which is quite critical for access control applications.
The most mature, efficient, user-friendly and fast biometric technology is fingerprinting.
The key access control functions are performed by BioTime:
- The major identification method is biometrics (fingerprint scanning);
- Biometric identification can be supplemented with PIN-codes and/or contactless cards;
- Access control features are fully integrated with time and attendance tracking options.
Interaction with Standard Access Control Tools
The BioTime hardware supports a wide range of equipment, which is an essential part of any enterprise-wide access control solution: electromechanic and electromagnetic door-locks, turnstiles and gateways that are managed by end-device controllers.
End-device controllers included in the BioTime package are delivered as:
- Standalone devices (to be used with optical fingerprint scanners of the BioLink U-Match family);
- Components of biometric terminals of the BioLink FingerPass IC family.
The controller issues a command to open a door-lock or turnstile upon successful user identification by producing the previously enrolled identifier.
One- and Two-Factor Identification
The BioLink FingerPass IC terminal allows the identification of users by fingerprints and contactless cards and/or PIN-codes. For employees, it is appropriate to use biometrics only, while visitors are recommended to apply contactless cards.
The above identifiers can be used both separately and in combination.
Two-factor identification examples are as follows:
- Accelerating the flow of employees through a main entrance during peak periods (start and end of business) – a PIN-code + fingerprint;
- Additional access restriction to highly secure premises – a contactless card + fingerprint;
The two-factor identification can also be implemented by embedding the biometric data into a contactless card. In this case two digital fingerprint templates are compared: the previously-enrolled template and the newly-produced one.
Integration with Legacy Access Control Systems
BioLink FingerPass IC terminals support Mifare and EM-Marine cards, as well as Ethernet, RS and Wiegand interfaces. If an enterprise has already implemented an access control infrastructure supporting the above interfaces, BioLink FingerPass IC features can be seamlessly incorporated into the existing system.
Such a technique ensures a signification reduction in costs and provides for consecutive implementation of biometrics with no idle hours.
Enterprise-Wide Solution
BioLink FingerPass IC terminals can be used both as autonomous devices and as part of BioTime. The latter variant is more appropriate:
- Access control checkpoints and user rights are managed centrally;
- The users' biometric and other related data (full name, position, etc.) are enrolled just once, and users can be granted assigned access rights as soon as they have enrolled;
- Opening a door-lock or turnstile is accompanied by the recording of the employee's arrival/departure event;
- Various reports can be generated: indicating the employee's actually worked hours, whereabouts in the office area or facilities (if biometric terminals are installed in the vicinity of internal areas), etc.;
- Enclosed security contours can be generated, allowing an employee to pass through all security contours; if an employee has not registered his/her check-in event at the entrance, he/she is not permitted to enter the internal facilities.
BioLink access control solutions are as follows:
- BioTime, a biometric T&A and access control system;
- BioLink U-Match, fingerprint scanners to facilitate biometric data enrollment;
- End device controllers (used if the biometric access restriction is performed through fingerprint scanners, not BioLink FingerPass IC terminals).