Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council, Essay Example

Access control is clearly a critical component and front gate to information security and related strategies. Indeed, literature points to a number of existing and emerging methods and approaches. The access control method that I currently see as the most promising involve authentication methods that include use of passwords and monitoring by humans and automated systems. This method is most useful because it is simple to employ but prevents against a significant amount of unauthorized access. While other security precautions are certainly needed, this system works well as a first line of defense. Ensuring that passwords are difficult to guess and are changed regularly makes this method even more effective. This method can be applied in a variety of office settings. To ensure employees are unable to obtain confidential information, it would be useful to password block certain documents and programs independently of computer access.

While basic login credentials are certainly important to modify, highly sensitive information may call for tighter access control. Other methods that can be employed for this purpose include access badge technologies or biometric technologies. These methods can be used to regulate access to the physical rooms where sensitive information is located. In this way, employees that have no purpose for accessing the information will not be able to accidentally open it. Furthermore, it will be possible to track the employees who have accessed this information and if there is any leak, it would be easier to track the culprit down. Simple badge technologies and biometric technologies include the use of swipe cards for room access or fingerprint identification for the same purpose.

References

Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council. (2008). Authentication in an Internet Banking Environment. Retrieved from http://www.ffiec.gov/pdf/authentication_guidance.pdf

Harris, Shon. (2012). All-in-one CISSP Exam Guide, 6th Edition. Emeryville, CA: McGraw Hill.