How Can RFID Technology Enhance Security Measures?

The history of RFID technology dates back to the early 1980s, but it’s only in recent years that it has achieved widespread adoption.

Today, you’ll find RFID — which stands for Radio Frequency Identification Technology — used in a wide array of industries for a near-endless number of applications.

Efficient, cost-effective, and productivity-boosting, this innovative technology plays a subtle but powerful role in organisations across the world, and nowhere are the benefits seen more directly than in the security enhancements it offers. In this post, we’ll take a closer look at how RFID technology is used to bolster a company’s security. Let’s dive in. 

Robust Access Security

All organisations must ensure that their facilities are safe and secure. Failure to do so can result in loss of assets and place employees and guests in danger. With an RFID card reader, businesses can ensure that only authorised individuals have access to their site. You can think of RFID access cards as being the modern solution to keys. With a single card, an individual can easily access all authorised parts of a facility without having to carry a bulky set of keys. In addition, should an employee’s access need to change (for example, they’re promoted and have access to other parts of the building), then granting that access requires little more than a few clicks of a button. 

Lowers Reliance on Security Personnel

There’s more than one way to control access to a facility. All too often, the burden of maintaining site security falls almost exclusively on security personnel. However, they’re unable to monitor all parts of the building simultaneously. Plus, even the best-trained, most vigilant security worker will make mistakes from time to time. Utilising RFID technology helps to lighten the burden of the security team. Once the technology has been integrated, there’ll be essentially another security check in place. You can think of RFID technology as dividing the responsibility for the site’s security — you may still wish to have security personnel on-site, but those workers won’t need to be overly concerned with who’s accessing the facility since that check will have been taken care of by RFID.

Access Data 

RFID technology doesn’t just ensure that only authorised personnel make it into your facility. It can also tell you who precisely has accessed the facility and when. This information can be used to help clamp down on internal crime, investigate onsite incidents, and make data-backed strategic decisions.

For instance, senior management can inspect access data to identify employees who may have been responsible for dangerous work practices. Similarly, if an internal theft or other unwelcome incident occurs, then the data produced by RFID readers can be used to pinpoint who was onsite at the time of the incident. 

Organisations can also use RFID data to make employee-related decisions. For example, they can analyse how many people are on-site and when, which may lead to a shift in the employee working model. 

Visual Deterrent

RFID access controls provide a valuable line of defence against unwanted intrusions. In addition, they also provide a visual deterrent to potential criminals. Along with security guards and CCTV cameras, RFID access machines communicate that the facility takes its access seriously. This applies to employees, too — if each door is equipped with RFID security, then they’ll inherently know that they’re unlikely to get away from internal crime, and that, as such, they shouldn’t even try. 

Updating Software

Once cut, a key will stay the same forever. If that key is somehow copied by an outsider, then they’ll have access to the facility until the locks are updated, at which point it may be too late.

RFID devices are like modern, dynamic keys that remain one step ahead of potential criminals. Manufacturers stay one step ahead of these activities, and they keep developing new models to help strengthen the systems’ robustness.

Overall Business Protection

RFID readers will not, on their own, protect your business from all known threats. However, they can help play a vital role in the overall security of an organisation. From keeping unauthorised personnel on the right side of the door, providing insightful data about who has accessed the site and when, and automating a process that may be compromised by employee error, RFID technology has been shown to make a facility more robust — and the people inside the space safer.

They’re easy to install and configure, and with RFID technology improving all the time, it’s time that businesses of all sizes look at incorporating the technology into their operations.