Administrators and employees at the VA Hospital in Fort Harrison, near Helena, Montana, now have one less concern when it comes to physical plant security. FICO recently completed the installation of a new access-control system that regulates the comings and goings of employees at the facility and, when it is fully completed, at all VA facilities across Montana.
The FICO system is unique in that it ties into the AWS (Amazon Web Services) GovCloud, offering maximum security for the hospital, control of information, and ease of use for employees.
This is another in a series of projects FICO has worked on at the Fort Harrison VA hospital. FICO recently completed a BMS project there, linking smart faucets to the building management system as part of the facility’s legionella prevention program.
What’s inside this blog post:
- FICO’s work with GovCloud.
- FICO’s Selection of the GovCloud.
- Expanding on other VA access control projects.
FICO’s work with GovCloud
Gary Marrone, a security strategy consultant at FICO, explains how FICO adapted a program called Feenics by ACRE Security to tie access control software into GovCloud, hosted by Amazon Web Services (AWS).
“The GovCloud offers the highest security available,” said Marrone. “It is one of the most secure systems for HIIPPA information and other sensitive data. It offers isolated infrastructure and services and features the latest IT encryption and cyber security protection.
“The challenge for VA administrators,” added Marrone, “is that they have a number of professionals, medical personnel and specialists, who come to the facility on a regular basis but are based in another facility, or they’re private contractors. They need access to specific areas, ideally without having to take other hospital personnel away from their work to give them that access. FICO installed more than 200 readers, linking them to the new software system. Now employees and professionals are free to move within the hospital, and access is always controlled.” When they arrive, they can commence their work immediately.
The installation had to be a very flexible system, too. Employees who mainly use their PIV (personal identity verification) cards can have a variety of other credentials that the readers could recognize–mobile, fobs, stickers, and keychains. The FICO-installed system recognizes all of them.
FICO’s Selection of the AWS GovCloud
The AWS GovCloud is a regulated cloud solution used to manage sensitive data and controlled, unclassified information. Government agencies and private businesses use the GovCloud to protect high-value data. AWS GovCloud is approved by the Department of Defense and FedRamp, the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program, a United States federal government compliance program. FedRamp ensures a standardized approach to security assessment, authorization, and continuous monitoring for cloud products and services that are used to handle information.
“GovCloud is not a new thing for storing and handling information for the government,” observed Marrone, “but the ability of the system to also handle information for access control has not been explored as much. I’ve always wanted to bring GovCloud into a security solution. The application at Fort Harrison is by far the most extensive example of this.”
The ACRE Feenics/GovCloud platform automatically updates the system. Every time there is a new software upgrade, the system automatically updates. Marrone identified outdated software as one of the chief reasons the previous access control system at the Fort Harrison facility wasn’t working well.
“Once you go to a cloud solution, everything updates automatically,” Marrone added. “Systems like this represent the future of access control. The market trends tell us that.”
Expanding on other VA access-control projects
The Fort Harrison project represents the latest in a series of access-control projects FICO has worked on for the VA in Montana. Other facilities include those in Billings, Butte, Great Falls, Hamilton, Bozeman, and a similar system in Missoula. Each facility can retain primary control over its access, but the Fort Harrison location can give access to all locations for all employees. The VA’s long-term plans call for FICO to install the ACRE Feenics/GovCloud platform access system at all 17 VA sites across Montana.
The Fort Harrison VA presented more challenges than the previous VA facilities, calling for more than 200 readers to be installed. The installation was spread out over six buildings on the campus. FICO installers worked diligently to complete the installation without interrupting the clinic’s operations.
There was also the challenge of working in older buildings, too. Many other VA installs were in new builds or were more recently constructed.
“It took a lot of communication, timing, and coordination,” said Marrone, “and we needed the system to work flawlessly because there are hundreds of staff.”
