Detektor International No 1

2 4 · d e t e k t o r i n t e r n a t i o n a l

Security News Every Day

www. securityworldmarket.com

Special Feature: Access Control

Editor: Lennart Alexandrie

2 4 · d e t e k t o r i n t e r n a t i o n a l

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Genetec warns of rising cyber risks

on legacy access control systems

According to the latest report

from research organisation

Omdia, Genetec is recognised as

the fastest-growing access control

software provider in the world

and ranked as number two among

the world's biggest access control

software providers.

Older systems a risk factor
Christian Morin, Vice President

of Product Engineering and Chief

Security Officer at Genetec, is

concerned about the fact that

there are many organisations op-

erating with access control systems

that date back ten years or more.

"While these older systems still

allow employees to badge in and

out, there's a very high likelihood

that these systems employ technol-

ogies that are extremely vulnerable

to modern cyber threats," he says.

Criminal's entry

into the network
Vulnerabilities in legacy access

control systems can introduce

cyber security weaknesses that

may put an entire organisation at

risk. Cyber criminals can exploit

weaknesses in access control

system credentials, controllers,

servers, readers, or workstations

connected to the network. Once

a cyber criminal has breached

access control system credentials,

they can then move on to an

organisation's network and can

gain control of other building

systems, view or steal confidential

information from internal records,

or launch attacks designed to take

key systems offline.

Average data breach cost

 4,3 million dollars
Companies that are affected pay

a heavy price; the average cost

of a data breach rose from 4.24

million dollars in 2021 to 4.35

million dollars in 2022. Hence,

it's never been more important

for organisations to be educated

on the risks associated with legacy

systems and the advantages that

new cyber secure access solutions

can offer.

Cyber security best practices

for access control systems
To improve the cyber security of

access control systems, Genetec

recommends the following steps:

· Upgrade the system. Older

systems were not built to address

today's threats. When evaluating a

new access control system or up-

grading an existing system, make

sure that cyber security is a key

component of the vendor selection

criteria.

· Use advanced secure cre-

dentials

and the latest commu-

nications protocols to secure data

transmission since older credentials

are easy to clone using readily

available tools.

· Educate employees and part-

ners

about cyber security best prac-

tices and ensure they are prompted

to change passwords often.

· Regularly check for firm-

ware

and software updates and

install once available.

· Use a centralised identity

access management system

ensure virtual and physical au-

thentication and authorisation of

employees for better control and

more effective maintenance of your

systems.

· Create a dedicated network

for access control systems so that

there is clear segregation of net-

works based on their purpose.

· Choose a security provider

who can demonstrate compliance

with established security certifica-

tions.

· Ensure that the access

control system

uses proven data

encryption standards as well as

multi-factor authentication.

· Work with a partner

that has

strong supply chain risk manage-

ment, a dedicated team to monitor

cyber threats, and ensures software

is updated frequently and patched

as needed.

A sector in transformation
Access control technology has

undergone a huge transforma-

tion in recent years. Customers

are gradually freeing themselves

from proprietary solutions and

demanding more flexible, open

solutions. Forward-thinking

technology manufacturers have

now introduced a new breed of