Threated by the increasing ingenuity of hackers in addition to the already problematic challenges of employee theft or industrial espionage, organizations today are taking serious steps to improve protection of their networks and data centers. For many, this means multiple layers and types of safeguards including physical measures such as video surveillance or mantraps and established policies and procedures that limit physical access such as the use of key management and access control systems.
Key systems are designed to securely hold keys and automatically track key usage. To access a stored key, the authorized user simply enters his or her personal identification code on the keypad, and when the system verifies the user, the door will open and the location of the requested key will light up. Key control systems can also be configured with card readers or biometric readers and can be networked for centralized control. At any time, security operations can view the status of any key in the system; quickly locate any key in the system; determine who currently has which keys out and for what area and when they are scheduled to be returned; or determine who has had keys out, for what areas and when. Keys can be returned to any cabinet in the system, but if a key is not returned when scheduled, email alerts and text messages can be sent to selected individuals to enable quick action.