3 identity technology considerations for COVID-19
By Willem Ryan
AlertEnterprise, Vice President of Marketing and Communications
As COVID-19 strengthens its grip across the globe with over 1 million cases of infected people and the World Health Organization (WHO) declaring it a pandemic, it’s important for us to have a conversation about how and where technology can support enterprise efforts to protect its workforce. Here are three considerations on how a Physical Identity Access Management (PIAM) platform can help:
1. Identity Intelligence and Risk Score.
Incorporating risk scoring and behavior patterns into an identity profile allows for proactive risk analysis before granting or removing access. Technology like Identity Intelligence and the active policy enforcement rules-based engine automatically identify policy violations and unauthorized access. This allows security managers to proactively monitor and respond to security violations as well as operational and procedural issues. During the COVID-19 outbreak, this could include travel history to restricted countries or regions. Integration with travel and HR applications can detect when and where a person booked travel and has badged in, providing the enterprise the ability to build a solid risk profile of activity. If someone in the workforce recently visited a restricted location, security and HR teams can be automatically notified to disable badge access to help avoid exposure and potential transmission. In the scenario where someone in the workforce becomes sick they would be considered a high risk. Any requests for physical access to a facility would require special approval according to company and local or federal health authority policies.
2. Modifying Visitor Experience.
With an outbreak, modification to the visitor experience is required. It is the first point of contact and along with lobby and security staff is part of the front lines for safety. Enterprises can configure their Visitor Identity Management (VIM) system to provide clear communication of current policies during the outbreak, reinforcing WHO best practices. VIM can easily be configured to prompt guests to answer specific screening questions related to recent travel and sign off on legal documents.
3. Extend Security Beyond the Lobby
Pre-registration and self-registration check-ins further reduce risk. They allow the end user to manage visitor and the workforce access remotely with pre-registration prior to arriving on premises. VIM software provides mobile and web-based self-registration where visitors are vetted before arriving on location.
At AlertEnterprise identity, trust, data-protection and security are at the center of everything we do. We believe that workforce privacy and safety must be woven into the fabric of every enterprise security and risk management strategy. During this crisis, we are committed to help enterprises have greater knowledge and control over who enters their facilities, and to take mitigating actions that can potentially minimize virus spread.
Our thoughts are with all those affected by COVID-19.
