If you’ve ever been concerned about security, managing the flow of people in and out the office or controlling who can access certain areas of your business then you will already understand the importance of access control but have you ever considered the importance of access control for your business data and I.T setup?
Why Is access control important?
Access control is important because it is a valuable security technique that can be used to regulate who or what can view or use any given resource. In an I.T security setting this could translate to who can access and edit a particular file, what kinds of equipment can be used or who can access certain devices.
The ultimate aim of access control is to provide a level of security that minimises risk to a business or organisation by helping to keep buildings, data and people secure. This is why access control goes hand in hand with I.T security and should be a key consideration for every business owner. Without proper access control you could leave your staff and your company wide open to problems such as data loss, theft or breach of privacy and data protection laws.
Premier I.T solution offer a proactive approach to I.T security. The team works with yours to help your business to become resilient and proactive, anticipate threats, have defense measures in place, and to make sure all relevant updates are complete so you can rest assured only the right people can access your data at the right time.
Premier I.T Solution can also be on hand to help you if you find yourself in the midst of an access control crisis that needs fixing.
Discuss Access Control At Your Business
Access Control Is Crucial For Business Owners
Due to the amount of data businesses have in their control and the potential for it to fall into the wrong hands, owners and IT managers should carefully consider access control as part of their IT and business management strategy.
The importance of access control is never more prominent than when you are considering the protection of your company data. From employee HR paperwork, trade secrets and product plans, to personal customer details, the very essence of your business is based on data. Every business has data and so every business must pay close attention to how they store, access and protect this valuable asset.
Benefits Of Access Control
By now you’re probably already sold on the importance of proper access control when it comes to keeping your business secure, so below we’ve outlined some of the benefits you can enjoy when implementing robust access control and I.T security measures at your place of work.
- Peace of mind your data is safe and only access by relevant people
- Identification. You can see who is accessing your controlled data and when
- Your data is protected from accidental destruction from deletion or overwriting
- Your data is protected from malicious intent
- You can vary user permissions and block permissions easily – great for when staff leave or change roles so they always have relevant access.
- Compliance with data privacy laws that regulates to storage, access and use of personal data
- Keep your business, it’s employees and assets secure from external eyes
- Access is centrally managed and administered via a dashboard or reporting portal
- Deterrence. Just like a burglar alarm, access control methods are a deterrent against misuse
- Great for businesses that need to uphold cyber security standards such as banks or companies that accept and process card payments.
- Access control can be configured to suit zoning, time-based access, role-based access, level-based access, count-based access, and plenty of other factors.
Related Questions
How Does Access Control Work?
There are three main components to any access control set up.
- Identification of who is accessing secured information/areas/assets
- Authentication of the individual to ensure they have the right permissions to grant access
- When authentication is successful, access control systems can then authenticate and grant access to the individual via password, pin, encryption, keys, smartcards and fingerprints to the resource they’re looking to gain access to.
In a nutshell, any kind of access control can be set up and administered centrally. Different tiers of access are set up and assigned to people, data or physical locations depending on your business need. The outcome is people can only see, access or use the data, places and information they need and are allowed to. Access control systems are designed to be flexible to business needs and can be easily updated by personnel with administrator rights.
What Does Access Control Look Like?
In an I.T setting, when we talk about access control, we are largely focused on data and networks that belong to your business. As such, the following make excellent access controls for these valuable resources:
- Device pin codes/passwords to access devices, files or locations
- Using secure VPN’s to access data from outside of the office
- Password protected files
- Firewalls
- Creating user roles, privileges and permissions to control the level of interaction with data
- Encryption
- Licence limits
- Password protected wifi
How Can I Implement Access Controls At My Business?
Any business that wants to improve their I.T security and minimise risk to its data, people and buildings from the unauthorised or inappropriate actions of others should consider access control.
If you’re keen to see how controlling access to certain parts of your business or it’s data could be of benefit, please get in touch with the team at Premier I.T. Our dedicated security teams help you to effectively mitigate threats by detecting them early on and putting in place access controls to ensure your data is safe and remains in your hands.
Every solution we provide has your business in mind, follows industry best practice and helps you to address GDPR compliance needs so you are up to date with data protection laws. For maximum I.T security, we deploy multiple security measures to create a resilient security matrix. That way, should you come under threat, your company can remain safe and sound, allowing you to focus on driving your business forward.
Summary
We hope this article has given you plenty of food for thought when it comes to the importance of access control for your IT systems.
The key points to remember are:
- Access control should form a part of your I.T security plans
- Access controls protect against breaches of privacy
- Access control is a valuable security technique that can be used to regulate who or what can view or use any given resource
- The ultimate aim of access control is to provide a level of security that minimises risk to a business or organisation by helping to keep buildings, data and people secure.
If you have any questions or would like help reviewing your current set up or implementing new access controls for the files, data and systems you have in place, please contact the team at Premier IT Solution and we will be happy to advise you further.
Premier IT Solutions offer tailor managed IT support covering Server & VMs, Desktop, Network, Security, Mobile and Remote facilities to keep you connected to your business 24×7.