A bank’s archive room is a designated location, often in a basement, which is designed for the storage and preservation of critical documents, customer records, historical financial information, legal agreements and other important paperwork. As a repository for a wide range of sensitive materials, an archive room plays a crucial role in maintaining the integrity of a bank's records.

Banks are subject to stringent regulatory requirements to ensure the security and privacy of customer data, so organizing documents in an archive room allows them to efficiently manage and retrieve information when needed, facilitating internal audits, regulatory compliance checks and responding to customer inquiries. Given the sensitive nature of the stored documents, access must be restricted to designated personnel only to protect against unauthorized handling or removal. As such, these spaces are typically equipped with advanced security measures.

Northern Star

In order to mitigate any emerging risks and threats, banks need to employ an ongoing program of security infrastructure upgrades. When a leading investment bank in Finland needed to improve the security of an archive room in one of its locations in Helsinki, it asked for recommendations from Securitas Technology – a Pacom value added reseller for over 25 years.

Mikko Seppänen, product manager at Securitas Technology, takes up the story and explains, ‘As a world leading provider of integrated security solutions that employs approximately 13,000 people across the globe, we have experience of working with a wide range of technologies. We operate extensively within the financial sector, so understand that nothing can be left to chance and only the best will do. When we were asked to suggest ways to maximize the integrity of our client’s archive room, we researched the best possible option, which we decided was Pacom’s Vigil Core integrated security management platform.’

Reach for the Sky

Intelligent, user friendly and highly cost effective, Vigil Core is a cloud based software solution that offers the flexibility, scalability, affordability and functionality demanded by today’s organizations. It has been designed to redefine what’s possible in security integration management, without any legacy restrictions, and is able to deliver valuable business intelligence, operational insights and efficiencies.

‘End users are now able to harness the power of the cloud through Vigil Core,’ comments Brad McMullen, Pacom’s general manager of security products and solutions. ‘Vigil Core is a true gamechanger and a great fit for customers with single sites, hundreds of sites or large campus environments. Its fully customizable dashboard can be accessed via any internet connected desktop PC or smartphone. It can also scale up and down as required and provides existing Pacom users with an opportunity to migrate to it quickly and easily.’

All for One and One for All

Limiting access to sensitive areas within the bank is vital and different levels of access can be assigned based on job roles. In archive rooms, access control systems are often integrated with other security technologies. Intrusion detection systems detect unauthorized access or entry attempts, while video surveillance systems are strategically placed to monitor entry points and critical areas, serving both as a deterrent and a means of recording any suspicious activities. Alarm systems can be linked to access control systems to trigger alerts in the event of unauthorized access attempts and configure transactional logs.

Securitas Technology’s Mikko Seppänen states, ‘This is the first time Vigil Core has been installed in Finland, so for us it provided a great opportunity to find out more about its features and benefits. Our customer needed the system to be up and running very quickly and we were very impressed with how easy it was to deploy. The archive room is quite small, so we integrated the access and control and intrusion detection systems on the same panel, and there is the potential to expand the system adding doors and cameras as required. The integration of security systems is the way forward and it’s clear that Vigil Core has great potential across many vertical sectors and organizations of all sizes.’

Under Control

Administration of access control systems involves careful management and oversight. With Vigil Core system administrators can configure access levels, assign credentials and regularly review and update security settings – helping to ensure that the administrator accounts are always controlled correctly.

In order to ensure that the bank’s security infrastructure is fully up to date, Vigil Core is able to carry out automatic software and firmware installations to allow it to benefit from the latest security features and enhancements. Doing this in a standardized manner takes the burden of managing the cybersecurity of the system off of the end user, while helping to ensure regulatory compliance through built-in operational features and documentation. Securitas Technology can also carry out remote diagnostics, troubleshooting and maintenance when needed.

Statement of Account

Having been successfully implemented within the customer’s defined timeframe, a bank spokesperson concludes, ‘A safe and secure archive room is vital for the continuity and stability of a bank. It not only supports day to day operations but also acts as a safeguard against unforeseen events such as legal disputes, regulatory investigations or audits. We take this incredibly seriously, which is why we trusted Securitas Technology to configure the most appropriate solution for our needs. We are delighted with the Vigil Core integrated security management platform – it reinforces the integrity of the bank and establishes a foundation of reliability and accountability in the eyes of both customers and regulatory authorities.’