PACOM Unison is a market-leading platform with the ability to link with ASSA Abloy Traka intelligent key management system and lockers solutions to manage and control access to a company’s most important assets. When a conventional key is stolen, mislaid, or accidentally taken home, security is compromised and the organization is suddenly vulnerable. Even if nothing is stolen, and no damage is done, the cost and inconvenience of fitting new locks and the impact on productivity can be significant.


Traka can significantly reduce the cost of losses through accidental damage, theft, personal injury and downtime.


The integration between Unison and ASSA Abloy Traka allows for extensive key management at facilities such as data centers, healthcare facilities, universities, municipalities, governments and other similar applications.


The user presents an access card to a reader to open the key cabinet and access a selected key. All actions and events are logged in Unison and can be accessed at any time. Unison can be configured to activate an alarm if a key is not returned to the cabinet on time. Unison can also be programmed to activate an event once a key is borrowed or is returned late.


Unison’s integration with Traka supports automatic upload of configuration making it efficient to upload data to user tags or update time schedules.


Deister proxSafe Integration


Deister proxSafe is a key and asset management system used to effectively control and monitor valuable assets using high security, electronically controlled cabinets.


Monitoring who, when and where keys and assets are accessed adds confidence and peace of mind with control and immediate response to alerts that can be automatically raised when alarm conditions exist.


Integrating Deister proxSafe with the PACOM Unison system allows Unison operators to respond to alarms, perform actions and monitor the status of the key management system as part of their standard Unison security management solution.


Linking Unison cardholder data and proxSafe key users provide the ability to control access to individual keys using existing cardholder data and the automatic sharing of data between Unison and proxSafe ensures that secure access to critical assets is maintained at all times.


The electronically controlled key cabinets can be efficiently monitored from the convenience of the Unison client and operators can see who has accessed keys and assets at any time. More than 50 different events can be displayed as alarms in real-time, enabling Unison operators to take timely action.


Benefits


The aim of this article is inform you on how to implement proper key management and to answer 3 important questions regarding centralized and automated key management:


What is Centralized Key Management?


How can a centralized system help meet regulatory compliance?


How can automation further improve the life cycle management of keys?


Distributed key management systems make it very difficult to manage cryptographic keys. As your company grows, so does your data and the number of encryption keys you must manage to maintain data security.


By switching to a centralized key management system, you will remove these challenges, increase life cycle efficiency, and help your IT departments develop proper key management policies that scale with your organization.


First, let’s take a look at what it means to practice proper key management.


Proper management of cryptographic keys in hardware security modules.


Proper key management is an essential process of data security within any organization handling sensitive information. To avoid risks and efficiently scale operations, an organization should centralize its large intelligent key management system. This will result in good key generation and ensure key integrity within the system.


How to implement proper centralized key management policies and procedures:


Develop secure data policies within your organization


Define the processes necessary to implement those policies


Automate those processes for your hardware security modules with a dedicated KMS.


What is a Centralized Key Management System?


A centralized KMS offers more efficiency as opposed to a distributed or application-specific KMS. They are called centralized because they use a single point to secure key management, policies and access audit logs. To boot, your organization can develop uniform key management procedures across all of your departments.


Some benefits of a centralized key management system:


Provides tamper evident records for proof of compliance


Streamlines key management processes and reduces costs


Automatic key updates and distribution to any end-point


Reduces the risk of human errors with user & admin permissions


Dual control with asynchronous workflows


System-wide key control manages any key type and format


Offers High availability and scalability


Reduces costs with automation


Simple backup and recovery


Another key advantage of implementing a centralized system — it eases regulatory compliance by providing a complete record of every time a sensitive operation or key activity is administered from the server.


How can a centralized system help meet regulatory compliance?


Regulation is a topic brought up in any serious discussion regarding data security. Anytime sensitive information storage is involved, you must follow the standard security rules required by an exhaustive list of compliance authorities. The particular regulations/security standards relevant to encryption and key management depend on the type of information that is being stored or processed and what sector the business operates within. In order to pass compliance testing and audits, you need to keep your data security procedures documented and updated. For most companies, compliance can be a major hassle.


Here are some of the standards to consider for HSMs:




Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS)




Common Criteria Evaluation Assurance Levels (CC EAL)




Payment Card Industry - Data Security Standards (PCI DSS)




Lite series key management system is typically developed with certain sectors/industries in mind, and therefore it is advisable to choose a centralized KMS that has a proven track record for supporting the security/regulatory standards of the particular sector that is relevant to the business.


A centralized KMS can help passing compliance audits by enforcing the security policies and automatic logging of all security sensitive operations. A unified overview and central control of all the essential logs makes demonstrating compliance much easier and quicker than auditing various disparate key management systems.


Compliance is non-negotiable. It is equally important for the system to support the complete life-cycle of cryptographic keys. Automating key management further reduces the need for time-consuming, manual key functions.


A system that puts high value keys under management needs to centralize, automate and optimize the encryption key management process through the entire life cycle. Proper management reduces overhead costs, ensures generated key quality, and protects these keys in storage and in transit.


WHAT IS A GUARD TOUR SYSTEM


A guard tour system is a system used to help companies and organizations to organize, log and execute guard tours and patrols in their assets ensuring that the officers will accomplish their tasks within the predefined time intervals. There is a wide variety of guard tour systems, which can be divided in two major categories: Wand guard tour systems based on handheld devices and cloud guard tour systems based on modern mobile and cloud technology.


Standalone guard tour system provides a means to check and record the time that a guard executes his guard tour by scanning specific checkpoints assigned on the area he patrols. Checkpoints are placed in certain points either on buildings or on other locations of a site or remote area and help the managing staff to identify each different location and each portion of a specific territory. The on-site officers can scan checkpoints, send SOS alerts, track and record events and conduct and send reports to the managing staff or the clients, even in real-time.


WHICH INDUSTRIES NEED A GUARD TOUR SYSTEM


The implementation of a guard tour system will help companies to monitor their officers accurately in time and manage their assets more effectively, upgrading their security services. So, many different industries can take advantage of the use of a guard tour system:


- Security companies, to monitor officers / Lone Workers, manage guard tours and conduct reports.


- Educational Institutes, to increase the safety of their students


- Real Estate organizations, to manage their buildings and protect them from damage


- Public transportation services, to direct activities and manage daily incidents


- Finance Institutes, to be safe from external threats


- Warehouse departments, to assure the security status of their merchandise


- Manufacturing facilities, to protect from damages and record incidents in every aspect of manufacture process


- Cleaning and maintenance services, to manage their installations and workers