Who Has Keys to Your Boardroom?
Most companies can tell you who has a key to the front door. Fewer can tell you who has access to the boardroom, or who walked in last Tuesday night after everyone went home.
In the recent OpenAI case, prosecutors say the employee charged had no authority to enter the executive conference room, and office video showed him near the room before a listening device was found. That is a surveillance story. It is also an access control story.
Start with the logs
Every badge, fob, or phone credential leaves a record when it is used. A good access control system logs who opened which door, when, and whether access was granted or denied. Most companies never look at those logs until something goes wrong.
For your sensitive rooms, you should be able to answer a few simple questions at any time. Who went in after hours this month? Who tried to get in and was denied? Was any door held open or forced?
Set alerts so you do not have to go looking. After-hours entry, repeated denied attempts, and a door propped open are all worth a notification to your security or facilities lead.
Pair the logs with a camera on the entrance. The log tells you whose credential was used. The camera tells you who actually walked in, and whether anyone followed them through the door.
Set a policy for sensitive rooms
Technology only works if the rules behind it are clear. Start by deciding which rooms are sensitive. For most companies that means the boardroom, executive offices, legal and HR offices, and network or server rooms.
Grant access by role, not convenience. Keep the list short. If someone does not need to be in the room to do their job, they should not have standing access.
Schedule service access. Cleaning crews, IT, and facilities staff can be given access only during set windows instead of around the clock.
Review the list every quarter. Remove anyone who changed roles, and remove former employees the same day they leave.
Escort visitors and contractors. Give them temporary credentials that expire, and do not let them into sensitive rooms alone.
No shared badges and no propped doors. Put it in writing and make sure everyone knows it.
Retire physical keys where you can. A metal key leaves no record. If a room still has a key lock, know exactly how many keys exist and who holds them.
Add a second factor at the door
A badge can be lost, borrowed, or cloned. Dual-factor authentication at the door closes that gap by requiring two things before it opens. Something you have, like a badge or a mobile credential, plus something you know, like a PIN, or something you are, like a face or fingerprint.
You do not need it on every door. Most companies add it only to sensitive rooms, or turn it on only after hours, so the front door and everyday spaces stay simple for staff.
Mobile credentials help too. The phone usually has to be unlocked before it will open the door, which adds a layer of protection on its own.
Where Noble fits
Noble designs, installs, and supports access control and video surveillance systems. We can review your current setup, turn on the right logs and alerts, add dual-factor readers to sensitive rooms, and help you put an access policy in writing. For rooms where the most sensitive conversations happen, we also offer meeting room sweeps to check for hidden devices.
If you would like us to review who has access to your sensitive rooms, please contact us or call 818-361-6995.