Secure Areas with Anti-Passback
Learn now to secure access control areas with anti-passback
The Verkada anti-passback feature increases security by ensuring each user enters and exits an area before re-entering. Using anti-passback, you can prevent users from entering an area and then passing their badge back to someone else to use to enter the same area. Additionally, anti-passback can help enforce a badge-out policy, whereby users must badge when they exit an area, or else they will violate anti-passback when they try to re-enter.
Anti-passback rules are based on the configuration of an access control area. An access control area is configured for a site, and is defined by a set of entrance doors and, optionally, a set of exit doors. See Configure Access Control Areas for more information.
In Canada, anti-passback and areas are only supported on the AC12.
Double entrance and double exit violations
Anti-passback works by monitoring whether a user has properly exited an area before they attempt to re-enter. Similarly, it monitors whether a user is properly entering an area they have exited, before they attempt to exit again. In other words, anti-passback detects violations when a user attempts to enter or exit an area twice in a row.
If a user has access granted to an entrance door, and then badges at an entrance door again without having access granted to an exit door in between, they will receive a double entrance violation.
Similarly, when a user has access granted to an exit door, and then badges at an exit door again without having access granted to an entrance door in between, they will receive a double exit violation.
Types of anti-passback
Verkada access control supports soft and hard anti-passback:
Soft Anti-Passback: A user who triggers a violation retains normal access to all area entrances and exits, even before the violation is cleared.
Hard Anti-Passback: A user who triggers a violation is denied access to all area entrances and exits until the violation is cleared.
Carefully consider the consequences when you enable hard anti-passback. The hard anti-passback rules can result in users unknowingly violating them and being denied access.
Carefully consider the configuration of your area's entrances and exits, and clearly communicate the intended badging policy to users before enabling hard anti-passback.
If a user is in violation, that violation will be automatically cleared if Violation Expiration is configured, or manually cleared by an Access Site Admin or Access Site Manager for the site. Learn more about Roles and Permissions for Access Control.
Verkada Support is unable to grant access to or clear a user's anti-passback violation.
Set up anti-passback for an access control area
Anti-passback is configured in the area settings. To enable it, follow the steps to Configure Access Control Areas and select Hard Anti-Passback or Soft Anti-Passback in the Anti-Passback area settings. You can also designate any access groups that you want to be exempt from anti-passback rules for this area.
Carefully consider which access groups should be anti-passback Exempt Groups. We recommend that you add security personnel and anyone who needs unimpeded access at all times as an exempt group.
Manage anti-passback violations
You can manage anti-passback violations from the Areas settings page. Select the People in Violation tab to see who currently has an anti-passback violation.
Review anti-passback violations
To review an anti-passback violation, click a user in violation to open the violation timeline review page. On this page, you can examine the events leading up to and following the violation.
Clear anti-passback violations
You can clear an anti-passback violation from the People in Violation tab or from the violation timeline review page.
Violation Expiration
You can configure anti-passback violations to automatically clear after a set period of time using the Violation Expiration setting.
When enabled, set the Violation Timeout to specify how long (in minutes or hours) a violation remains active before it is automatically cleared. The timer starts when the violation is first created. This can reduce the need for manual intervention when violations occur.
Configure alerts for anti-passback violations
You can set up alerts that will trigger notifications for anti-passback violations. Follow the steps in Configure Access Event Alerts, then configure the alert for anti-passback violation events.
Essential safety practices
When you select Hard Anti-Passback, your area must allow free egress in an emergency.
Hard Anti-Passback results in a user in violation having access denied at all entrances and exits of the area. Therefore, for safety purposes, it is essential that such a user be able to exit the area safely in the event of an emergency.
Free emergency egress
Free emergency egress must be enabled through a system independent of fire alarm pull stations.
Free emergency egress can be achieved in a variety of ways, such as:
Mechanical egress via a crash bar or handle
Break-glass request-to-exit (REX) that drops power to a maglock
You can configure Verkada Access Control to generate a door-forced-open (DFO) event when someone uses emergency egress instead of badging out. You can also configure the DFO event to trigger an AUX output signal connected to a strobe or siren, helping discourage non-emergency use of the emergency egress.
Prefer to see it in action? Check out the video tutorial.
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