Why is cybersecurity important for critical infrastructure protection?
Digitalisation shapes every industry as everything is becoming increasingly interconnected and digital. Companies rely on the Internet, and much of our personal information is stored online and our devices. Encountering risks that jeopardise our safety as individuals, or risks that create damage to companies and public infrastructure, is a real threat, even when simply using an open network. Therefore, cybersecurity measures within the solutions are needed to strengthen integrity and safety.
New technologies are updated and adapted in critical infrastructure to streamline operations. Wireless security devices offer endless possibilities for infrastructure protection, but they might raise questions about cybersecurity. Next, we will have a closer look to cybersecurity layers in keyless locking technology.
Implementing essential cybersecurity layers for keyless solution
Layering cybersecurity increases physical security. There are three important procedures that should be layered – encryption, authentication, and authorisation.
1. Encryption
Information can be concealed with encryption. Encryption protects all data that travels between devices by encoding information or scrambling readable text to make it meaningless and protect it from unauthorised users.
2. Authentication
Authentication identifies the user and the access management system. Once all parties can be sure of who is on the other end of the line, access rights can be granted and used. Authentication for the user includes the app’s identification measures as well as the phones biometrics or passwords to validate the user. This information is also authenticated by the access management system. If invalid data is received, the management system or lock will not read the data.
3. Authorisation
Authorisation determines what each user is allowed to do within an application or with received data, for example, if a user is allowed to first receive access rights and then share them personally. With access rights, users can be limited to only receive and use their personal access rights and never share them forward. This tightens physical security as well.
Digital locking solutions in the market now
Digital locking solutions provide exceptional security and privacy protection for critical infrastructure. There are wired and wireless solutions, and wireless solutions commonly utilise NFC-technology or Bluetooth®. Wired solutions have limitations and site requirements on where they can be placed. NFC is a wireless solution that can work without a continuous power source, but these devices activate only when they are in very close proximity.
Battery powered Bluetooth® locks offer a continuous power source and wireless flexibility, which is why it is the chosen technology for our growing BEAT digital portfolio. Competing solutions appear to be solving the same challenges our customers face, but unlike BEAT, these locking devices might not have been designed for keyless purposes, resulting in suboptimised user experience, security and endurance.
Future-proof connectivity and designed for keyless access with ABLOY BEAT
- You can open locks with a smartphone. BEAT solutions battery life lasts more than 5,000 access cycles or five years, depending on the frequency of use.
- BEAT starts off as an offline solution, and the locking devices can be placed within or outside network coverage. Locks can be operated without an active cellular connection if access rights are updated on the smartphone before entering an offline area.
- Bluetooth® offers future possibilities for connectivity, like remote opening and IoT monitoring with access management software and gateway devices. This way you could react to vandalism and unauthorised access much quicker – and have peace of mind of by having total awareness of your security situation without site visitations.