An integrated physical and logical security solution from Diebold Inc. is now being used by Ascend Federal Credit Union to enhance security, improve efficiency, reduce IT costs and simplify access management at the credit union's headquarters in Tullahoma, Tenn.
According to a news release from Diebold, the complete solution integrates physical and logical access control via smart card technology. It also includes managed access control and an Internet protocol surveillance solution.
"We turned to Diebold with the goal of improving efficiency and simplifying access management," said Missy Cleveland, assistant vice president at Ascend Federal Credit Union. "Diebold's solutions have helped us to achieve those goals while realizing additional benefits, such as increased asset protection and reduced help desk costs."
By working with Passlogix, a sign-on, provisioning and authentication solutions provider, Ascend deployed a smart card solution that allowed the credit union to migrate from traditional key and password controls to a single card that permits access to physical assets and computer applications. Passlogix uses the v-GO Enterprise Single Sign-On solution, which is a part of Passlogix's Access Accelerator Suite. The ESSO and authentication password management solution allow users to log into a computer system just once using a secure credential. The smart card has helped Ascend eliminate the need to enter passwords.
"Integrating physical and logical access controls opens up several opportunities to streamline operations, enhance security and reduce duplicative efforts and costs," said Bradley J. Stephenson, vice president of the Diebold Security division. "In the case of Ascend Federal Credit Union, the institution was able to consolidate access control management to a single computer server. That means one less system to manage and update, which frees up time and resources to address other security needs."
Ascend also plans to use Diebold's Managed Access Control solution to grant authorized personnel access to specific areas of branch locations, with the option to define access by specific dates and times. Credit union security managers control access permissions and supervise the cardholder database using a Web site or by working directly with Diebold's Event Monitoring Center.
