A new Mercury Security survey indicates that cybersecurity requirements are outpacing parts of the installed physical access control controller base. The company’s 2026 Trends in Access Controllers Report surveyed 561 physical security and cybersecurity professionals, including administrators, integrators, installers and end users.
Reported cybersecurity gaps increased year over year
Thirty-two percent of respondents said cybersecurity features were missing from their current controller systems, compared with 21% in the 2025 survey. Mercury also reported that 74% found coordination between cybersecurity and IT more difficult to manage, even as 86% said their organizations work to keep pace with changing security and data-protection requirements.
Interoperability remained central to purchasing decisions. Sixty-nine percent described it as critical, while 82% considered backward and forward compatibility important to future planning. Interest in cloud connectivity also exceeded deployment: 56% cited it as a purchase consideration, but 41% reported cloud-enabled controllers.
Modernization needs verifiable controls
Survey results describe respondent perceptions rather than an independent audit of installed systems. Even so, they reinforce the need to verify secure boot, encrypted communications, credential protection, patch support, logging and network segmentation during controller selection. SectechMedia follows related architecture in its access control and identity coverage.
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