Addressing The Insider Threat
Modernizing systems enables better management of airport worker identities
Airline and airport workers require access to sensitive and restricted areas every day. Ensuring that only authorized staff has access to restricted areas is an important aspect of airport security, and one that requires the same high level of attention as passenger security threats. Various airline employees, vendors and multiple tenants need to be authenticated every day. Their physical access rights need to be controlled and managed dynamically based upon their role and policies affecting their access. In fact, airports present one of the most complicated scenarios when administering restricted-area access control, identity verification and issuance of an access credential. Many airports have siloed systems and processes used to manage employees’ access credentials.
Physical identity and access management operations are handled manually, leading to potentially dangerous errors, a higher cost of operations, enrollment and termination delays and a lower level of security. A multi-layer balance between security, costs and practicality is required to address this issue. Leveraging technologies to achieve security goals can also improve efficiencies and customer service.
Airport security policies and TSA (Transportation Security Administration) and FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) regulations require airports to vet and manage the lifecycle of their credentialed workers. Airports must consistently and efficiently perform all required steps and procedures while balancing this requirement against a timely and customer-friendly process.
Challenges of Managing Airport Identities
Several challenges stand in the way of maximizing the
Cost pressures, which have limited staff sizes and man-hours in the air travel market, including less available time to manage identity issues.
Wide variety of systems, often involving operators to work in and out of multiple computer screens when addressing identity and access control issues.
Extensive prerequisites to qualify for a credential, which must be tracked and documented.
Dependence on manual processes, which are errorprone and expensive.
Physical identity and access management software can solve these and related problems by unifying identity management airport-wide, integrating physical security systems, automating processes and simplifying control of employees, vendors and other identities.
Software allows airports to manage the lifecycle of identities as they relate to physical access, including synchronized on/off-boarding across all systems harboring an identity record, access profile, zone management and role-based physical access.
Automation Adds Efficiency
Identity management includes the fabric of systems, policies and procedures that govern and streamline the lifecycle of an identity and its relationship to an enterprise or entity. This concept can be applied to employers and employees who are issued credentials to access and work in the various zones of an airport.
Many departments have touch points to these employees and their identities in which various systems and repositories are used. Commonly, these disparate areas have relationships to one another. For example, when an employer terminates an employee, the process must flow through these areas to ensure all aspects of that identity and all assets such as card and keys are returned or billed for properly.
Software can replace off-line, non-automated processes, which are not scalable and do not enable the automated compilation of information. Software systems can solve various airport pain-points and combine the needed elements of low cost, customer service, security and compliance. Off-the-shelf software can streamline and automate each airport’s operational processes.
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