The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is responsible for imposing rules regarding airport security, and those rules change according to the current threat landscape. Most recently, the TSA imposed new rules regarding how airports handle potential insider threats, and facilities across the country have been making changes to their background check and badge management practices as a result. Read on to find out how to meet new TSA regulations without creating extra headaches for employees and contractors.
Current Problems and Potential Solutions
While the average American thinks of airport security threats as coming primarily from other passengers, the reality is quite different. Security for passengers traveling by air has been highly regulated for decades, and there are protocols in place that have all but eliminated outside threats. Unfortunately, that’s not always the case for airport staff.
Insider threats are just as serious when it comes to the potential for sabotage, the illegal transportation of goods, and other illicit activities, and individual airports are responsible for avoiding them. That means taking advantage of modern solutions to combat insider threats.
Appropriate Solutions for Smaller Airports
Large international airports rely on sophisticated technological solutions such as digital identity management systems to vet workers and implement access controls. Unfortunately, these systems are both expensive and complex, which makes them a poor choice for smaller airports. Ensuring compliance with TSA protocols in these environments requires airport access control systems designed to be both affordable and easy to use.
Modern access control systems for airports do more than allow faster processing when employees get to work. Well-designed systems also provide features like integrated automated background checks for employees and simple, easy-to-use dashboards that reduce work for security personnel. Sometimes known as badging software or solutions, these programs make it easy to keep everyone’s authorizations up to date, manage employee status changes, and identify risks such as badges that have not been returned.
Reducing the Risk of Human Error
As with any security operation, human error poses the largest risk to small and mid-sized airports. The problem is that security departments at airports have a lot on their plate, which can leave them overworked and understaffed. An overworked security team is less likely to notice if a badge goes missing and it’s not reported, for example, which can create an opportunity for unauthorized entry.
Ensuring Compliance
Weaknesses in an airport’s access control system don’t just create safety issues. Failing to meet TSA standards for airport security can also leave facilities facing monetary and reputational consequences. Implementing an appropriate access control system that provides a tamper-proof digital paper trail is the only way to ensure that everything will go smoothly should the TSA request an audit.
Make the Switch
There are plenty of airports out there that still rely on outdated badging software or, even worse, analog systems for keeping track of employee access permissions. If they want to get up to speed with the TSA’s new regulations and ensure compliance with future changes to security rules, now is the time to change all that. Instead of making do with an outdated system, switch to more modern access control software that ensures TSA compliance, improves efficiency, and lowers overhead for airport security departments.
