Cybersecurity is becoming a larger concern in physical access control, according to a new report from Mercury Security, an HID brand. Nearly one-third of security professionals surveyed by Mercury say their organizations’ access controllers are missing cybersecurity features, with the figure increasing to 32% in the latest survey from 21% in its previous study, with further coverage provided by Biometric Update.
The perceived importance of access controllers is rising, with 85% of respondents considering them critical to their physical access control system strategy. This comes as 74% of respondents report growing difficulty coordinating physical security infrastructure with IT requirements over the past three years, despite 86% actively trying to stay current with evolving cybersecurity standards. Organizations face challenges in upgrading access control equipment, which often remains deployed for years, while also prioritizing interoperability and compatibility. Sixty-nine percent of respondents consider interoperability critical when buying controllers, and 82% cite backward and forward compatibility as crucial for future planning. Cloud connectivity is also a growing consideration, influencing purchasing decisions for 56% of respondents, though only 41% describe their controllers as cloud-enabled. Mobile access adoption is at 50%, with 46% identifying mobile credential integration as a purchasing trend. Facial recognition is expected to impact physical access control for 60% of respondents, while 56% cite behavioral analysis and anomaly detection as influential use cases for access controller data.
Source: Biometric Update
