INTRODUCTION TO PHYSICAL SECURITY

The Physical security addresses design, execution, and maintenance of countermeasures which protect physical resources of an organization. The controls can be circumvented if attacker discovers physical access. Physical security is as significant as logical security.

Physical Access Controls

Secure facility – The physical location engineered with controls which are designed to minimize risk of attacks from the physical threats. Secure facility can take benefit of natural terrain, traffic flow, and urban development; can complement these having protection mechanisms (fences, gates, guards, walls, alarms).

Controls and measures for Protecting the Secure Facility

The following are the controls for protecting the Secure Facility

 1)    Walls, fencing, and gates
 2)    Guards
 3)    Dogs
 4)    ID Cards and badges
 5)    Locks and keys
 6)    Mantraps
 7)    Electronic monitoring
 8)    Alarms and alarm systems
 9)    Computer rooms and wiring closets
10)   Interior walls and door

 Fire Security and Safety

The serious threat to safety of people who work in an organization is possibility of fire. Fires account for personal injury, property damage, and death than any other threat. Crucial physical security plans examine and implement strong measures to first detect and then respond to fires.

Fire Detection and Response

Fire suppression systems are devices which are installed and maintained to detect and respond to a fire.

Deny an environment of heat ,oxygen or fuel by
- Water and water mist systems   
- Soda acid systems
-Carbon dioxide systems
-Gas-based systems

Fire Detection

Fire detection systems fall into two basic categories: manual and automatic. Part of the entire fire safety program includes individuals which monitor chaos of fire evacuation to prevent an attacker accessing offices. There are three general types of fire detection systems: smoke detection, thermal detection and flame detection.

Fire Suppression

Fire Suppression systems comprise of portable, manual, or automatic apparatus. Handy extinguishers are rated by the type of fire which are Class A, Class B, Class C, Class D. Installed systems apply suppressive agent, usually sprinkler or gaseous systems.

 Failure of Supporting Utilities and Structural Collapse

Supporting utilities (heating, ventilation and air conditioning; power; water; and others) have significant impact on continued safe operation of a facility. Each utility should be properly managed to prevent potential harm to information and information systems.

Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning

The regions within heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) the system which can cause damage to information systems include:
•     Filtration
•     Humidity
•     Temperature
•     Static electricity

Power Management and Conditioning

Electrical quantity is a concern, as is quality of power. Noise which interferes with the normal 60 Hertz cycle can result in inaccurate time clocks or unreliable internal clocks inside CPU. Grounding ensures returning flow of current is discharged to ground. Overloading circuit creates problems with circuit tripping and can overload electrical cable, increasing danger of fire.

In power outage case, UPS is backup power source for major computer systems. Emergency Shutoff is a significant aspect of power management is the requirement to stop power immediately should current represent a risk to human or machine safety.

Water Problems

Lack of water poses problem to systems, comprising functionality of fire suppression systems and ability of water chillers to provide air conditioning. Surplus or water pressure, poses a real threat. It is very essential to integrate water detection systems into alarm systems which regulate overall facilities operations.

Structural Collapse

Unavoidable forces can cause failures of structures which house organization. Structures which are designed and constructed with the specific load limits; overloading on these limits results in structural failure and potential injury or loss of life. Periodic inspections by civil engineers should be assisted in identifying potentially unsafe structural conditions.

Maintenance of Facility Systems

Physical security should be constantly documented, then evaluated and finally tested. Documentation of facility’s configuration, operation, and function must be integrated into disaster recovery plans and operating procedures. Testing improve the facility’s physical security and identify feeble points.

 Interception of Data

Three techniques of data interception are as follows:

•     Direct observation
•     Interception of data transmission
•     Electromagnetic interception

The government of U.S. developed TEMPEST program to reduce risk of electromagnetic radiation (EMR) monitoring.

Mobile and Portable Systems

With increased threat to information security for handhelds, laptops, and PDAs, mobile computing needs more security than average in-house system. Many mobile computing systems have corporate information stored in them; some are configured to facilitate user’s access into organization’s secure computing facilities. It should support security and retrieval of lost or stolen laptops.


Remote Computing Security

Remote site computing – It is from organizational facility. Telecommuting is the computing done by using telecommunications including Internet, leased point to point or dial-up links. Employees might need to access networks on business trips; telecommuters need access from home systems or satellite offices. To offer secure extension of organization’s internal networks, all the external connections and systems should be secured.

Social engineering

It is use of people skills to attain information from employees which should not be released.

Inventory Management

Computing equipment should be inspected on a regular basis. Classified information must also be inventoried and managed. The security of computing equipment, storage media and classified documents varies for each and every organization.