The Physical Security Blind Spot in Your Smart Building

When you arrive at your facility, the doors unlock automatically with the touch of a finger. The lights adjust to your presence, and the thermostat sets the ideal temperature. Your smart building's technology ecosystem makes operations seamless. But there's one critical element you could be overlooking: physical keys.

Smart building technology providers promise keyless access, so why should you worry about mechanical keys? Here's why.

Even Smart Buildings Use Physical Keys

Nearly all (90%) of building owners, operators, and managers have smart capabilities in their facilities. But even the most connected facilities still rely on mechanical keys for: 

• Access control system backups (when power, network, or lock batteries fail)
• Restricted areas (e.g., elevator, generator, or HVAC control rooms)  
• Vehicles or equipment stored on-site
• Mailboxes or secure cabinets 

Keys will always exist in some form for emergencies, compliance, and maintenance. Without a plan for those keys, your smart building has a blind spot, leaving one of its largest security vulnerabilities wide open. 

Ignoring Physical Key Security Is Risky 

In sectors like education, healthcare, and multifamily housing, traditional keys remain prevalent. In fact, 79% of facilities still use them, even with access control systems in place. However, electronic key management system use declined from 45% to 36% in a year. Without these systems in place, organizations have limited oversight of their physical keys.  

That’s troubling when you consider:  

• Over 60% of organizations experienced a physical security breach in the last year.
• Physical access was a critical factor in 78% of those breaches.  
• For a midsize company, the average cost of a physical security breach is $450,000 — roughly what you’d spend to install 180 smart locks.
• Over half (52%) of incidents could have been prevented with better physical security.  
  
  

If you don’t have a strategy for managing mixed access control methods, your facility has a huge security gap. 

Key Control Is Required for Compliance  

About 30% of smart building owners and managers say they’re focusing on compliance. Physical key control plays a big role in your compliance efforts for several reasons:  

• Security audits require proof of who accessed sensitive areas and when. If any access points use physical keys, you need to maintain an audit trail.
• Certain state laws, security standards, and industry regulations (e.g., ISO 27001, Miya’s Law) call for documented key control measures.
• Some insurers may require or incentivize verifiable key access tracking.
   

Incomplete key control records can increase liability, like in these examples:  

• A dealership was held liable for $277,662 due to poor key control that led to an accident involving one of the dealership’s vehicles.
• In a state audit, a prison was cited for inaccurate key inventories and missing log entries.  
  
  

Even in high-security environments, inconsistent key logs can cause audit failures. This risk only grows in smart facilities, where compliance expectations are higher. 

Close the Security Gap With Electronic Key Control 

Electronic key control systems close your key security gap by helping you: 

• Create automatic, tamper-proof records for every key.
• Enforce check-in/checkout procedures and restrict access by role.
• Gain visibility into who has which key and when.
• Reduce rekeying costs from misplaced keys.
• Simplify audits with searchable access logs. 

These systems are a small investment compared to the potential loss from a single breach or compliance fine — even if you only manage a small number of keys. 

Smart buildings aren’t keyless buildings. If you ignore the physical keys in your facility, you’re leaving a blind spot in your security strategy. Treat physical keys with the same level of control as your digital access systems. That’s how you make your smart building truly secure.