The expanding world of access control

Access & Identity Management Handbook 2017 News & Events

Welcome to the Access & Identity Management Handbook 2017. We have packed an enormous amount of information into these pages, all focusing on the access and identity market. Unfortunately, even with 120 pages, we have to limit what can be printed due to space restrictions. Such is the size and expanding nature of this market.

As has become the norm over the years, biometrics plays a significant role in the handbook as more companies look at additional ways of identifying and authenticating people in the most reliable and quickest manner possible. That’s not to say cards and fobs are a thing of the past, this market is still growing and will continue to grow for a long time, as will the uptake and popularity of electronic locks which use biometrics and traditional access mechanisms.

In fact, we’re looking at a market in which everything is integrated into a working solution, using whatever products and devices are best suited to the job at hand. This is why mobility is also a factor in access and authentication. Since the small smartphones we have come to accept as being part of our normal day have such powerful processing capabilities, people want to make use of them in various situations, including access control. Moreover, smartphones will soon become another management console linked to a central server in order to control access permissions and so on.

An interesting trend in the world of authentication at the moment is for people to report that biometrics are no longer a good option for security because your fingerprints, voice or face can be stolen and you can’t change them like you can a password or PIN. We asked some biometrics players to deal with this issue in one of the articles, but it’s fair to say that the leading brands are ahead of the game in terms of liveness detection and other means of proving a biometric belongs to a real live person – the one they are supposed to belong to. This is also where multi-factor authentication comes into play.

It’s also fair to say that criminal syndicates have almost unlimited research funding and will always be finding ways to outsmart whatever security system one has in place. And in an environment where people often compromise on security in favour of cost, you have to expect that the cheap products will be easier targets for criminals.

However, criminals aside, we hope you enjoy the content we have put together for the handbook. By the time you receive the magazine it will also all be online. We will also be sending out a few email newsletters with a few articles in the new year. And although the handbook is a once-per-year affair, we welcome your feedback which always assists in improving the next year’s Access & Identity Management Handbook. Please feel free to send your comments to andrew@technews.co.za.

Andrew Seldon, Editor



Credit(s)




Share this article:
Share via emailShare via LinkedInPrint this page



Further reading:

Pentagon appointed as Milestone distributor
Elvey Security Technologies News & Events Surveillance
Milestone Systems appointed Pentagon Distribution (an Elvey Group company within the Hudaco Group of Companies) as a distributor. XProtect’s open architecture means no lock-in and the ability to customise the connected video solution that will accomplish the job.

Read more...
Digital transformation in mines
NEC XON Technews Publishing Mining (Industry)
Digital transformation has been hyped to death, but is a reality all companies in all industries need to address, including the mining sector. BCX and NEC XON weigh in on the challenges mines face.

Read more...
Fire safety in mining
Technews Publishing Mining (Industry)
Clinton Hodgson, Head of the Industrial Fire & Life Safety Division at FS Systems International, provides SMART Security Solutions with his insights into fire safety risks and solutions as they pertain to the mining industry.

Read more...
Cybersecurity in mining
Technews Publishing Mining (Industry)
One does not usually associate mining with cybersecurity, but as big technology users (including some legacy technology that was not designed for cyber risks), mines are at risk from cyber threats in several areas.

Read more...
Sophos celebrates partners and cybersecurity innovation at annual conference
News & Events Information Security
[Sponsored] Sun City hosted Sophos' annual partner event this year, which took place from 12 to 14 March. Sophos’ South African cybersecurity distributors and resellers gathered for an engaging two-day conference.

Read more...
Mines require proof of performance
Technews Publishing Mining (Industry)
The relatively hostile environment and remote locations of mining establishments mean that any electronic/technical implementations have to be easily installed, require little or no maintenance and, once commissioned, require no adjustment.

Read more...
Sales basics for security installers
News & Events
Being the best security business in South Africa means little if no one uses your services. Your business success is only partly linked to how good you are at security installations.

Read more...
From security technician to salesperson
News & Events
Being great at security sales starts with having the right mindset. How you think informs what you say and how you act; and how you act informs the results you will achieve in your business.

Read more...
From the Editor's Desk: Something old and something new
Technews Publishing News & Events
      Welcome to the 2024 edition of SMART Security Solutions’ Mining Handbook. Mining is a challenging industry for security professionals, although security is a challenge on this continent, no matter your ...

Read more...
A long career in mining security
Technews Publishing Editor's Choice Mining (Industry) Risk Management & Resilience
Nash Lutchman recently retired from a security and law enforcement career, initially as a police officer, and for the past 16 years as a leader of risk and security operations in the mining industry.

Read more...