Designing Access Control for Failure, Not Perfection

Security systems rarely fail because of a single dramatic breach. More often, they fail quietly — through assumptions, edge cases, and human behavior under stress.

In this episode of Vigilant By Design, host Benjamin Johnson, CPP, PSP, PMP, explores what it means to design access control systems for the world we actually live in, not the one we wish existed.

Rather than chasing the illusion of perfect prevention, this episode focuses on resilience, containment, and recovery — the principles that protect people and property when controls degrade or fail.

We discuss:

• Why mature security design starts by assuming compromise

• The difference between prevention-focused and containment-focused access control

• How layered technologies, procedures, and protocols work together to limit impact

• Fail-secure vs fail-safe decisions and why defaults are dangerous

• How access control, alarms, surveillance, and policy must operate as a system

• The role of procedures and training when technology alone is not enough

• Why recovery planning is a core security function, not an afterthought

• How human behavior under stress influences security outcomes

• What “controlled failure” looks like in real-world environments

This episode is designed for security leaders, facility managers, and decision-makers who understand that security is not about perfection — it’s about designing systems that fail gracefully.

When access control is built to detect failure, contain movement, support response, and recover quickly, it protects lives even when things go wrong.

Security isn’t about fear.
It’s about design.

🔗 Learn more at www.vsc.world
📧 Contact us at info@vsc.world

#VigilantSecurity #VSC #SaferSpaces #SecurityConsulting #HardenYourSite #CrimeIsComing #VigilantByDesign

OSDP: Making Weigand Look Like Magstripe

Access control systems don’t fail because technology stops working. They fail because outdated assumptions quietly persist.

In this episode of Vigilant By Design, host Benjamin Johnson, CPP, PSP, PMP, takes a deep dive into the evolution of access control reader communication protocols — Clock & Data, Wiegand, and OSDP — and explains why this often-overlooked layer is one of the most important trust boundaries in physical security.

We explore:

• How Clock & Data originated in early magnetic stripe systems and why simplicity came at the cost of security

• How Wiegand became the industry standard, what the Wiegand effect actually is, and why compatibility outlived protection

• Exactly how these protocols work at the signal level, including wiring, voltages, and communication models

• The fundamental security limitations of one-way, unencrypted reader communication

• Why credential data, device trust, and supervision matter in modern threat environments

• How OSDP was designed to replace assumption-based trust with verification through bi-directional communication, encryption, and supervision

• When legacy protocols may still be acceptable — and when they represent unnecessary risk

This episode connects access control technology history to modern realities, including insider threat, credential cloning, AI-enabled impersonation, and long-term system design.

Clock & Data trusted the wire.
Wiegand trusted the reader.
OSDP verifies both.

If you are responsible for security decisions, system design, or long-term infrastructure planning, this episode will help you understand not just what works — but what deserves trust.

🔗 Learn more at www.vsc.world
📧 Contact us at info@vsc.world

#VigilantSecurity #VSC #SaferSpaces #SecurityConsulting #HardenYourSite #CrimeIsComing #VigilantByDesign

Pre-Incident Indicators: What People Do Before Violence or Breach

Most violent acts and serious security breaches don’t come out of nowhere. They are often preceded by behaviors, signals, and patterns that go unnoticed—or are dismissed as “probably nothing.”

In this episode of Vigilant By Design, host Benjamin Johnson, CPP, PSP, PMP, explores pre-incident indicators: the observable behaviors and changes that frequently appear before acts of violence, insider threats, or major security failures.

This episode is not about profiling, labels, or fear. It’s about understanding behavior, recognizing escalation, and building systems that allow people to speak up without punishment.

Topics include:

• What pre-incident indicators are—and what they are not

• Leakage: how intent often escapes before an incident

• Common behavioral and digital warning signs

• Why people miss signals due to normalcy bias and social discomfort

• Observation without profiling—focusing on behavior, not identity

• Digital breadcrumbs and online escalation

• What to do when something feels “off”

• Creating reporting paths that encourage evaluation, not overreaction

Rather than asking “Who would do this?”, this episode reframes the question to:
“What happens when risk is increasing—and no one knows how to act?”Preparedness is not about predicting who will act.
It’s about recognizing patterns early and responding with clarity, calm, and responsibility.#VigilantSecurity #VSC #SaferSpaces #SecurityConsulting #HardenYourSite #CrimeIsComing #VigilantByDesign