ID card access to campus buildings

[Rodney Petersen <rpetersen () EDUCAUSE EDU>]

I am reposting discussion item posted yesterday afternoon before
conversion to new list name in case anyone else cares to comment.
Archives of original post and three responses using old list name
(SYSSEC) are available at
http://www.educause.edu/memdir/cg/security.html

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: [SYSSEC] ID card access to campus buildings
Date: Thu, 27 Jun 2002 15:49:44 -0500
From: Kevin Shalla <Kevin.Shalla () IIT EDU>
Reply-To: Systems Security Taskforce Listserv
<SYSSEC () LISTSERV EDUCAUSE EDU>
To: SYSSEC () LISTSERV EDUCAUSE EDU

The one-card (ID card) office is considering activating card access to
one
of our campus buildings, which houses administrative offices, the
computer
labs, classrooms, and academic departments.
I think the electronic lock is a bad idea for several reasons

1) Those with a legitimate reason to come in would be prevented from
entering or at least inconvenienced.  Visitors would pose a big problem;
even if an outdoor phone were installed, if the visitor doesn't have a
phone number for the visitee, or the visitee is out of the office, and
someone else could help (especially with package delivery), the visitor
still cannot get in, without guessing who else could help.

2) It's not going to prevent unauthorized people from coming in the
building.  Legitimate personnel are going to let in illegitimate people
-
it's a fact of life.  Legitimate personnel are not going to be security
officers asking to see ID cards of others.

2) Privacy would not be respected.  We should not be tracking the
movements
of our personnel. Regardless of how secure or private we think that data
is; if we store it, it may be abused at some time.

What do others think of this, and who has experience with electronic
card
door locks?

Kevin Shalla
Manager, Student Information Systems
Illinois Institute of Technology
<mailto:Kevin.Shalla () iit edu>

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