Building an Access Control System - Case Study Example

Building an Access Control System Project Scope Statement The project scope will focus on the building of an Access Control System for the dormitories for a small college. The operations of an Access Control System are aimed at being selective. This feature is meant to restrict access to a place or a particular resource within an institution. The restriction will be to increase the physical and information security for the individuals who reside in the dormitories. The project will involve the creation a system that operates through the verification of credentials of authorized individuals to access the system. The use of smart cards will be implemented in this case scenario. Card readers will be utilized in decoding personal information and data when using the system. The microelectronic access control system allows access based on the permit presented on the cards. When access is allowed, the door is unlocked for a programmed time frame and the operation is recorded on database located in another location on a computer. When access is not granted, then the door remains locked and the attempted entrance is recorded onto the system to assist in future auditing. The system is also expected to monitor the door and provide an alarm sound notification in case the door remains open for long after being unlocked or in the event the door is forcefully opened. Introduction The term access control denotes the exercise of limiting access to a building, a property, or a room to accredited persons. Thus, for an access control system there are a set of policies that are mandatory for configuration onto the system by an expertise and high level trusted programmer to administrate the system. Project Tasks for the System 1. Description of Hardware and software requirements for system i) Information reading before transaction from Card Reading and Video Camera This event is expected to involve a read operation on the smartcard to acquire entity information. A write operation can be involved after authentication of the read operation on the card to verify the credentials of a given user who wants to access the system at a given time. ii) Card Verification & facial recognition to allow transaction This process entails the authentication of cards information and its linkage to a particular user registered on the system. Credentials are essential to be able to trace back transaction and document them on the data storage units allied to the system databases. 2. Description of involved entities through Identification and Authentication i) Information Identification of Card Holder The identification process is aimed at verifying that the entities involved with the system are allowed and their identities are bound to them. This can be a PIN number, or serial number assigned to them by a system administrator. In this case scenario the use of smartcards will have barcodes or magnetic codes which aid in information storage about a single user. This information in turn can be used in verification process and recording or storage of data during transaction on the system. ii) Authentication through use of information collected from card and camera Authorization is meant to define the access rights for involved subjects who use the system. The access control system is expected to specify the operations which the subjects are allowed to execute within the proposed system. These operations might include the read, write and execute system policy operations on the permissions database directory. The camera documents and records the video operations at the entrance locations to offer a record for tracing back people who went through that door. 3. System Review for all entities that require Access Approval i) Access approval limitations This is a substitute component that will be inbuilt in the finalized system to offer approval limits for each and every user who accesses the system. Different users will be offered different accessibility options to particular entrances to the dormitory residential buildings. For example, the cleaning personnel can be given card with credentials allowing the entrance to the building at particular times. On the other hand, students’ cards will be configured to be able to access the entrances at preconfigured timings like maybe at lunch time or evening times. ii) Accountability for Proof There should be mandates put in place to govern the use of the system. The need for accountability for all information is essential for all the access controls and modules granted to the system. The camera proposed for the system will strengthen the security protocols in that in the case of loss of a card then the facial recognition properties acts an accountable approach to limit access by unauthorized entities using for example a stolen card. The need for accountability goes a long way in ensuring there is a system put in place to back up the security in case there is any security fault or breach that occurs. The recreation of security incidences through use the camera records and detection of breaches in due time provides a strong support for the system accountability. 4. System design coding and documentation through Access control models i) Card security This protocol requires the encoding of information on the card to ensure security of the card which holds the vital data regarding the card holder or user. It involves the implementation of security features which protect the user against theft or fraud, for example using a 3 attempt limit PIN codes. ii) Photo ID Software In case of failure in data verification, then photo ID software or facial recognition software highlighted from camera video records compliments the security features of the access control system in use. 5. System testing to ensure access of model policies that suit the system. i) Break-Glass Access Control Model Conventionally, most systems are programed to universally restrict access by a "default deny principle," that is, if an explicit access application is not explicitly permissible, then it will be automatically denied. This performance might clash with the consistent operations of the access control system. In this case scenario, the Break-Glass Access Control Model can be implemented to allow for the one time violation of the control system by an authorized personnel or system administrator in order allow users to override access control decision. ii) Mandatory Access Control This will be aimed at permitting entree to a source if and only if rules occur that permit a particular user to access the control system resource. Even though this approach can prove to be difficult to manage, its use is vindicated when used to guard highly delicate information regarding student records for example and their background information. Gantt chart Activity Project Week Timings Starting January 15th to March 30th (10 weeks) Week 1 (Jan) Week 2 (Jan) Week 3 (Feb) Week 4 (Feb) Week 5 (Feb) Week 6 (Feb) Week 7 (Mar) Week 8 (Mar) Week 9 (Mar) Week 10 (Mar) Project Description                                 Project Proposal                                 Development of System overview                                 Finalizing Project plan                                 Description of Functional specs                                 Software design, Coding & Documentation                                 Testing the System                                 Implementation                                 System diagram References Norman, T. L. (2012). Electronic access control. Waltham, MA: Butterworth-Heinemann. Read More