Market Trends of Canada Access Control Industry
Smart Card Segment is Expected to Register Significant Growth
- Smart cards are physical cards embedded with integrated circuits that can process and store data. They are used to authenticate and grant or restrict access to secure areas, systems, or information. Smart cards can be contact or contactless, allowing communication between the card and the reader. Contact smart cards have a visible chip that must be placed into a reader, while contactless smart cards use RF technology to communicate with the reader when brought in close proximity.
- Smart cards are like typical plastic cards. However, they contain an embedded computer chip, either a microprocessor or memory type. The data stored and transmitted through these chips pertains to either value, information, or a combination of both. The card data is transmitted through a reader, the outward-facing component of the smart card access control system. Nowadays, several systems across a broad range of commercial sectors, like banking, finance, healthcare, entertainment, and media, are using smart card security systems in their applications.
- Contact smart cards need to be inserted into a smart card reader since they require physical contact with the reader. However, contactless smart cards have an embedded antenna inside, enabling communication with the reader without physical contact.
- Canada is one of the markets with the most potential for adopting smart home technology. Smart home technology in the country is shifting from early adopters into the mainstream as Canadians realize the benefits these devices can bring them and their families. The Government of Canada, the Government of Quebec, the City of Montréal, and the Fondation Les Petits Rois unveiled Smart Home, a unique residence in Montréal for young adults with an intellectual disability, with or without an autism spectrum disorder.
- The connected home concept is unique in Canada. It aims to make daily life easier for people with intellectual disabilities, with or without autism spectrum disorders, by providing an environment that will enable them to thrive in complete safety and to learn continuously while fostering their self-esteem and independence. Such trends are expected to create a positive outlook for the market’s growth.
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Healthcare Segment is Expected to Register Significant Growth
- In Canada, the demand for access control devices in the healthcare sector is significantly increasing to ensure the security and confidentiality of patient information. Access control systems help restrict unauthorized access to sensitive areas like patient records, pharmacies, and labs, protecting patient privacy and complying with regulations such as the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act.
- Furthermore, access cards are given to employees, guests, and patients, allowing them to move around the hospital wherever the appropriate card grants entry. With the card programmed and connected to a person's identification, it is simpler to manage who gets where. Certainly, access cards are useful and affordable, which is why hospitals use them frequently.
- Many healthcare facilities use keypad readers with passcodes. Entering a code into a reader to get access is possible with this security feature. Readers are available as independent devices or as part of an access control system. An alternative danger to using cards is when you type in a passcode. There is no way to tell who created the unlawful entry because users can share it as often as they like without breaking the rules. Since sharing is voluntary, anybody can utilize it in violation of the regulations.
- A database containing information on 5.6 million patient visits to Bluewater Health and the social insurance numbers of around 1,446 Chatham-Kent Health Alliance employees were among the data stolen in the ransomware attack on five southwestern Ontario hospitals. The cyberattack led to a system outage involving patient records, email, and more at Windsor Regional Hospital, Erie Shores HealthCare, Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare, Bluewater Health, and Chatham-Kent Health Alliance. It has also delayed patient appointments.
- Furthermore, Hamilton Health Sciences (HHS) in Ontario fired eight employees for their involvement in a privacy breach at the city's health care system. According to HHS, the employees inappropriately accessed the personal health information of around 4,000 patients. Such instances demand the deployment of access control systems in the country.
