Automatic driveway gates can enhance the security of your property. If they’re installed at your personal residence, they’ll ensure that pets and children aren’t at risk of wandering off the premises. However, on both commercial and residential properties, a properly installed automatic gate can prevent unauthorized entries and help keep your belongings safe. Nevertheless, the protection your gate provides can be compromised if you don’t take precautions. Here’s what you should know about the security of automatic gates and what you can do to bolster their resistance to tampering.

Automatic Gates and Security

Automatic gates can make your property more secure by providing the following:

• Access control. Installing an automatic gate allows you to control who has access to your property and when. This is can be useful if you’re away from your home or business and have to let in delivery people, caretakers, or repair workers. Note that anti-tailgating mechanisms, which close the gate fast enough to prevent anyone from driving in behind you, will help prevent unauthorized entries.
  
  
• Privacy. Depending on its design and the material it’s made from, a driveway gate can provide more or less privacy. For many property owners, privacy is extremely important in general but may be doubly so for you if you store valuable possessions on site. For instance, hiding a collection of luxury cars or expensive work equipment from view can reduce the risk that someone will target your property.
  
  
• Deterrence. Many crimes are opportunistic in nature. This means the more difficult it is to gain entry to your property, the less likely it is would-be burglars are going to target it. A well-maintained gate can look like an insurmountable obstacle to a criminal looking for an easy mark.
  
  
• Integration. It’s possible to integrate your automatic gate with your property’s security or communication system. This means it’s much more secure than one that’s isolated and operating on its own. Your driveway gate is the first line of defense against a possible intrusion. It’s therefore important that any tampering or breaching attempts are picked up by an alarm system and that you can verify the identity of anyone who gains entry.

Automatic Gates and Brute Force

One way that a driveway gate can be compromised is through brute force. This is why choosing one that’s solidly constructed is so important. While an automatic opener will prevent anyone from opening the door manually, if enough force is applied the hinges or lock may give out. This could happen through leverage applied at a weak spot or simply by ramming the gate itself.

Although some motors use self-locking mechanisms, which can be effective against these types of attacks, the best way to prevent this from happening is by installing an additional lock on the gate. An electric lock or, better yet, a magnetic lock, is likely to make this type of manoeuvre too difficult and time-consuming.

However, even if the lock holds, the gate’s hinges might not. This is a bigger concern with old gates that haven’t been inspected or maintained in a long time. A sliding gate may be a better choice if a brute force attack is possible.

Automatic Gates and Power Issues

Another, more subtle way to bypass an automatic gate is to simply cut the power or cause an electrical shortage to prevent the gate from operating normally. This is why having a functioning battery backup or surge protection system is so important. Otherwise, a power outage could provide an opportunity for an intruder to gain access to your property.

Automatic Gates and Hacking

Most automatic gate openers use remote controls that send a sequence of codes to the receiver. These codes aren’t audible or visible, but specialized equipment is capable of capturing the codes and replicating them. However, most recent gate openers are equipped with anti-hacking features.

Another way that automatic gates can be compromised through hacking is if the gate’s system is integrated to your network, for instance, through Wi-Fi. If someone manages to gain access to the network, they could potentially open your driveway gate. To prevent this from happening, securing your network is essential.

Experts in Residential And Commercial Automatic Gates

The bottom line is that an up-to-date and well-maintained automatic gate is highly secure, as long as you take a few important steps. At Creative Door Services™, we offer comprehensive automatic gate services to residential and commercial property owners in Western Canada. Whether you’re looking for a new automatic gate or simply want to make sure your current one is secure, don’t hesitate to contact us. You can find us in Vancouver, British Columbia; Kelowna, British Columbia; Calgary, Alberta; Edmonton, Alberta; Fort McMurray, Alberta; Regina, Saskatchewan; Saskatoon, Saskatchewan; and Winnipeg, Manitoba.