Securing an educational institution’s access has received renewed focus from industry professionals. Using locks and keys no longer suffice for environments where a multitude of people come and go every day. This applies just as much to keeping non-custodial parents out as it does to unwanted visitors in dorms or residence halls.
To ensure the safety of their students, administrators need to look for the latest tools and education technology that improves their security. By implementing a visitor management system, institutions can prevent unauthorized access to their campuses. With modern communication solutions that include video and voice technologies integrated with security cameras, the school can improve its building security.
Schools and academic institutions are coming to terms with the risk unauthorized access brings to their facilities. To ensure the safety of their students, institutions should make every effort to prevent uncontrolled access to the property or buildings.
4 School Security Solutions for Improved Student and Information Safety
To reduce the exposure to risks, schools should look for technologies that can help them manage the daily ingress and egress of students, staff, contractors, and other visitors. Granting access to the wrong individual or group could result in dire consequences. For this reason, any academic institution should look to implement stringent security measures to protect faculty and students.
1. Access Control Systems
Every school perimeter should be inaccessible to unauthorized people. This requires a clear delineation and managing (or recording of) every person who can access the area during school hours. With a modern access control system, the school can ensure they prevent unauthorized access while maintaining a variety of secure barriers within the premises.
Intelligent door locks that require staff and students to swipe access cards or use keypads can help secure classrooms, while also providing a final barrier to prevent access to any dangerous individual. As school safety continues to be a concern for faculty, administrators, and parents alike, adopting an access control strategy can reduce the risk to students attending the facility.
2. Video Surveillance Solutions
Another area where schools can improve their security is by deploying video surveillance systems throughout the campus. This can help the security staff to monitor the internal movement of individuals and alert faculty to any dangerous situations. Modern security cameras integrate with other communication solutions like Grandstream’s phone and video systems, helping security staff to quickly identify and respond to a threat.
Security cameras currently help 94.2% of high schools to monitor their students and track their movement throughout the campus. Middle schools and primary schools make less use of this technology but should also ensure they implement video systems in the main entrances and exits.
3. Securing Information Networks
Although it may not pose an immediate threat to school districts, they need to ensure they also improve their information security. Cybercriminals will use every trick in the book to gain access to networks and exploit personal information for financial gain. Using malware that helps them deploy ransomware, cybercriminals can take over the entire school network.
To prevent the likelihood of a data breach or ransomware attack from succeeding, schools need to adopt the latest network security best practices. This includes deploying firewalls, conducting regular endpoint scanning, and regularly reviewing security policies. Any breach of personal information can lead to reputational damage, civil liability, or financial exploitation.
4. Designating Areas That Require Elevated Security
Schools and academic institutions need to cover large geographical areas to protect their students and information systems. To ensure they maintain a secure perimeter, administrators should designate the different areas on the campus and implement the necessary security systems to protect sensitive information or individuals.
Wherever direct access to the facility is possible, administrators should focus on securing these doors or gates. Similarly, record rooms or faculty areas where the school stores physical information should never be accessible to unauthorized persons. Administrators and faculties should also adopt the latest security solutions as not doing this could lead to a data breach.
Improving School Security and Reducing the Network Attack Surface
Schools naturally have a larger attack surface than other institutions. These include physical risks as well as those regularly exploited by cybercriminals. Hackers have become aware that the organizations that do not have the budget to deploy the latest security controls are the easiest targets to exploit. With the added risks these facilities face, partnering with a technology expert will be vital to ensure the safety of their students and information systems.
CDS Office Technologies helps organizations of every type to reduce their attack surface, deploy layered security controls, and improve operational efficiencies. With more than four decades of experience, CDS Office Technologies can help school districts and academic institutions review their current systems and recommend improvements in their school security. CDS has a team of experts that will work with faculty and staff to understand their existing access control solutions, develop innovative solutions, and integrate these systems with their current operational workflows.
For more information on security cameras, visitor management systems, or education technologies for improved academic workflows, speak to one of CDS Office Technologies’ agents today.
