School security gaps can leave campuses vulnerable and exposed to serious security threats. Even with comprehensive security solutions in place, incidents can still occur. Whether the incidents occur on your campus or at a different school, there are insights and lessons that can be learned from them and used to strengthen your security against evolving risks and threats. Here are some security lessons colleges and universities cannot afford to ignore:

1. Attackers don’t have to break locks to gain entry.
2. Security solutions need visible and concealed security layers.
3. False alarms can drive people towards danger in an emergency.
4. Protocols for shelter-in-place vs evacuation need to exist and need to be as clear as possible.
5. The implementation of security technology must include plans for emergency responders.
6. The largest security gaps often live in the gaps between systems.
7. Cybersecurity and digital safety cannot be overlooked.

1. Attackers Don’t Have to Break Locks to Gain Entry

Strong access control systems need to include locks, but they cannot rely solely on them. One of the security lessons colleges and universities cannot afford to ignore is that attackers do not have to break locks or even get past locks in order to gain entry to a building.

Tailgating isn’t just for cars or event security. It’s also a risk for any building with access control and includes situations where someone follows in behind someone with authorized entry without having to be authorized themselves. Doors held open for someone else, or doors left propped open for a temporary convenience, can grant entry to someone who should not have it.

Attackers using weapons also do not have to break locks to gain entry. In active shooter incidents, the attacker is likely to shoot through glass on entry doors to gain access. In a study by The ALERRT Center and Security Industry Association (SIA) analyzing 54 U.S. K-12 active shooter incidents from 2000 to 2025, every successful mechanical breach was from the attacker shooting through glass or walking through an unsecured door, and not from getting through the locks. Another consideration is that if the building is relatively near a road, an attacker could use a vehicle to ram through entry doors.

Campus security must consider these risks when implementing access control for buildings. Glass entry points are vulnerabilities. Flush doors with locking mechanisms can help prevent breaches. If glass needs to be used at entry points, reinforcing it by using ballistic-rated glass or security glazing is recommended.

2. Security Solutions Need Visible and Concealed Security Layers

Visible security measures often act as a deterrent, and they are key ways universities can manage crime on and around campus. However, visible security measures can also be examined and planned around by a determined attacker. Visiting your location before making a move can allow an attacker to map out visible security measures, identify vulnerabilities, and create a plan that helps them accomplish what they want to do.

Good security solutions are multi-layered. They should include visible and concealed security layers. In the event that an attacker would plan around visible security measures, the non-visible, concealed layers will be there to detect them, trigger alerts, and protect the campus and everyone on it. This ensures that critical warnings and responses are not delayed, even if an attacker would be able to bypass some layers of security.

3. False Alarms Can Drive People Towards Danger in an Emergency

Alarm systems are important for every building. You want alarms to be triggered in an emergency, so people know that they need to respond, whether that is by evacuating, staying in place, or following specific components of emergency plans. However, false alarms can cause real issues. In an emergency, false alarms can drive people towards danger.

In the case of the 2023 Covenant School attack in Nashville, Tennessee, a false fire alarm triggered an evacuation that moved people, who were not yet aware of the active threat unfolding, into the hallways and directly in the active shooter’s path as they tried to exit. Smoke from the attacker’s initial gunfire while gaining entry to the school had triggered a nearby smoke detector, which set off the fire alarm and prompted the evacuation.

There was also a delay in awareness about and communicating the active shooter threat throughout the school. Although students and faculty did switch to barricaded shelter-in-place protocols once they were aware of the active shooter, the delayed warning, slow messaging and communication of the threat, and the false alarm cost some students and adults their lives.

Reducing false alarms is important for any facility, and it’s essential that alarm systems can differentiate between triggers. Modern alarm systems should be able to differentiate between a fire, a gas leak, an active threat, like an active shooter, or another emergency and activate the appropriate response. Integrated systems can provide full visibility and add essential context to a potential incident, which helps reduce false alarms, ensure that the right alerts and notifications are triggered for the threat occurring, and help save lives during emergency response.

4. Protocols For Shelter-in-Place vs Evacuation Need to Exist and Need to Be as Clear as Possible

Although we are programmed to evacuate a building when a fire alarm goes off, an evacuation is not always the best response to an emergency. The single-alarm evacuation model does not align with modern emergency response, and the ambiguity it introduces into dynamic emergency situations costs lives. In the case of tornadoes, high winds, earthquakes, and active shooters, shelter-in-place may be the safest option. Different emergencies require different responses, and the best response can change over time as a situation changes.

When it comes to campus security, protocols for when to shelter-in-place and when to evacuate need to exist, and they need to be as clear as possible. Emergency situations can change rapidly, and safety procedures may need to change along with them. Being able to communicate critical information, send out targeted instructions, and more are how mass notification systems fit into modern emergency response.

In an emergency, colleges and universities can use mass notification systems to alert students and staff across multiple channels and deliver specific instructions tailored to the incident occurring and how it is evolving. These are key benefits of mass notification systems. Not only does this help reduce confusion and panic, but it can also help save lives.

5. The Implementation of Security Technology Must Include Plans For Emergency Responders

Security technology may secure your building, but if you don’t account for it, your security architecture can cause costly delays for emergency responders when it matters most. Often, emergencies are already underway or have already occurred once emergency responders arrive. In addition, they are usually not familiar with the layouts or unique features of the locations they are arriving at. Any delays can cost lives.

Locked doors can help keep out attackers, but they can also keep out emergency responders and cause delays in critical moments when there has been a breach. Emergency responders may not be able to gain entry the same way an attacker did, and critical moments can be wasted if they have to wait for keys to gain entry in a delicate situation.

In the case of active shooter incidents, even the fastest law enforcement response is almost always arriving after the attack is already occurring. It’s imperative that emergency responders are able to gain access to a building or an area when they need it as quickly as possible, and that they are given access to anything that would help them navigate unfamiliar environments.

When implementing campus security solutions, colleges and universities must take this into account. This gap exists in your security architecture and technology. In order to close it in a way that doesn’t reduce safety and security, you have to plan accordingly. Any implementation of security technology must account for emergency response and plan for emergency responders.

6. The Largest Security Gaps Often Live in the Gaps Between Systems

One of the biggest security lessons colleges and universities cannot afford to ignore is that the largest security gaps often live in the gaps between systems. There can be issues with single systems that may contribute to gaps and vulnerabilities, but the biggest exposures tend to be in the intersections and overlaps of multiple systems. These gaps often result in:

• Delays in initial warnings, which delay response.
• Incorrect or false alarms, which trigger the wrong response and can become threat multipliers in an emergency.
• Partial or incomplete visibility, which obfuscates the situation and hinders the ability to respond appropriately.
• Nonexistent or confusing protocols, which delay response, increase confusion, and can put people in harm’s way.
• Mismatches between protocols, actual responses, and expected outcomes, which increase risks and become threat multipliers during an incident.

Video surveillance on campus doesn’t do much good if the cameras are in the wrong place, aimed incorrectly to monitor an area, or don’t communicate with other systems to respond to alerts and provide visibility around a potential incident. Lack of visibility or unmonitored areas also make it difficult to monitor an evolving situation, or track an active threat as they move throughout campus.

Access control that does not integrate or communicate with alarm systems appropriately can mean confusion or entrapment during emergency evacuations, that a security breach goes undetected, or that response to an unauthorized entry is delayed. In emergency situations or in the case of something like an attacker or an active shooter, these security gaps between systems can cause delays or confusion that cost lives.

A comprehensive security solution must be multi-layered and composed of multiple systems and components working together. However, it only works when those systems are properly integrated and configured for seamless communication, and for full visibility and real-time monitoring across locations and systems.

7. Cybersecurity and Digital Safety Cannot Be Overlooked

Colleges and universities handle a ton of valuable data. From student information, including identity, financial, and healthcare data, to research data and more, these institutions handle large, diverse, and valuable datasets. This makes them a target for data breaches and cybercriminals.

This is why one of the security lessons colleges and universities cannot afford to ignore is that cybersecurity and digital safety cannot be overlooked. And, it’s not just their own databases and systems that they need to contend with; any third-party software vendors are also potential vulnerabilities.

Schools must maintain active control over and proactively protect their own identity and access management layers, so that they are unaffected by vendor outages, breaches on supplier networks, direct ransomware attacks, and more.

Improve Your Campus Security With Northeast Protection Partners

These are just a few of the security lessons colleges and universities cannot afford to ignore. Any unaddressed campus security concerns can leave gaps in your campus security, leave your school exposed to serious risks, and make it vulnerable in a crisis. It’s important to proactively identify vulnerabilities and security gaps and address them before an incident occurs.

Every campus will have its own unique risks and vulnerabilities that its security solution will need to address. The right mix of products, systems, configurations, and integrations that make up a multi-layered, comprehensive security solution for a specific campus will vary.

Working with an experienced security systems integrator can help make sure your campus security solution meets your needs and properly protects your students, facilities, and campuses. If you need to update or upgrade your college or university campus security, contact Northeast Protection Partners at 1-800-736-1456.