Preventing access to material and private areas is fundamentally important across many areas in contemporary society, where security is imperative. This kind of security can come in the form of physical, human and mechanical intervention or by technological means.
Everyone has information they wish to keep private. There are areas where only certain people are allowed. Therefore, it is necessary to ensure that this information remains hidden, away from inappropriate eyes, and that those who do not require access are kept out.
In the simplest terms, access control may be a bouncer not letting you into the local night hotspot because you’ve had one shandy too many. Technological advances mean that at the more complex level an intricate web of systems can be employed to ensure no intrusion and only those selected may gain access to an area or information. The most complex systems, à la James Bond or Minority Report, may not be as implausible as they seem.
Access control is all around us. It is an everyday occurrence; from the lock on your car to the pin on your credit card, it is essential for preventing access to those who are not privy to it. Depending on the importance of what is being denied access to, the extent of the control needs to be intensive.
Think how easy it is just to walk through a door closely behind someone who has legitimate access. After all, it is only common courtesy to hold a door open for someone who seems to be going in the same direction as you. In a busy workplace, where you may not know everyone, this problem is amplified.
Furthermore, of increased importance is the control of access electronically through computer security. This may be the authorisation and authentication of those trying to gain access and the monitoring of those who are allowed in. This is done without human intervention, with a computer system that makes a decision whether to grant admission or not.
Everyone has information they wish to keep private. There are areas where only certain people are allowed. Therefore, it is necessary to ensure that this information remains hidden, away from inappropriate eyes, and that those who do not require access are kept out.
In the simplest terms, access control may be a bouncer not letting you into the local night hotspot because you’ve had one shandy too many. Technological advances mean that at the more complex level an intricate web of systems can be employed to ensure no intrusion and only those selected may gain access to an area or information. The most complex systems, à la James Bond or Minority Report, may not be as implausible as they seem.
Access control is all around us. It is an everyday occurrence; from the lock on your car to the pin on your credit card, it is essential for preventing access to those who are not privy to it. Depending on the importance of what is being denied access to, the extent of the control needs to be intensive.
Think how easy it is just to walk through a door closely behind someone who has legitimate access. After all, it is only common courtesy to hold a door open for someone who seems to be going in the same direction as you. In a busy workplace, where you may not know everyone, this problem is amplified.
Furthermore, of increased importance is the control of access electronically through computer security. This may be the authorisation and authentication of those trying to gain access and the monitoring of those who are allowed in. This is done without human intervention, with a computer system that makes a decision whether to grant admission or not.
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