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March 13, 2009
• Vol.31 Issue 10
Page(s) 27 in print issue
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Secure The Perimeter
Ensuring Airtight Physical Security Is Just As Vital As Protecting Digital Assets
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| Key Points
• Physical security measures such as access control can be enhanced using digital technology.
• There are easy ways to enhance physical security without breaking the bank, such as proper camera placement, following policies, and being proactive about security.
• There can never be too much security; however, security measures must be properly managed to be effective. | | In today’s digital-centric world, much of the attention given to security focuses on the safekeeping of digital assets such as data and software. And rightly so—many recent headlines describing unfortunate data theft incidents make it clear that digital security in the information age has a long way to go and is a critical piece of the technology puzzle.
But IT managers, CIOs, and other decision makers must always remember to also pay close attention to the physical security of buildings and data centers. The best firewalls and antivirus programs are no good if unauthorized personnel are able to gain easy access into buildings or data centers.
 The Physical Security Toolkit
When people think of physical security, beefy security guards and heavy steel doors come to mind. But there are numerous tools beyond the obvious ones that must also be part of an SME’s physical security toolkit.
Stephen Russell, founder and CEO of 3VR Security (www.3vr.com), a San Francisco-based company focused on digital video management systems, says many data centers focus security efforts on access control but may fail to consider the consequences once someone gains access into a building.
 “Access control is just one facet of a good security system,” Russell says. “Be sure to integrate facial recognition, alarms, intrusion alerts, and other critical security functions.”
Scott Armstrong, vice president of marketing and alliances at Gideon Technologies (www.gideontechnologies.com), says in terms of physical security, data centers should be built with thick walls, windows should be avoided, the location should be a good distance away from roads, and the building should feature camera surveillance and limited entry points.
Also, adds Armstrong, HVAC systems should be designed to recirculate air—rather than draw from the outside—in case of a biological attack. To buttress entry security, he adds, data centers should implement two-factor authentication.
Physical & Digital Security Converge
The process of implementing physical security measures is not necessarily isolated and independent of an enterprise’s IT systems. With today’s technology, there are plentiful opportunities to complement physical security with digital technology and provide a comprehensive security combination.
For example, says Quantum Secure President and CEO Ajay Jain (www.quantumsecure.com), a global security manager at a large corporation could use technology infrastructure connected to all physical security systems to define a policy granting access to certain employees into multiple buildings all over the globe using a single access card.
“In implementing a successful security infrastructure,” says Jain, “a security practitioner needs to bridge both the physical and logical security spectrums, integrating their existing physical security devices with their IT systems to create an end-to-end security solution for managing identities, compliance, and events.”
Gideon Technologies’ Armstrong says companies should realize that physical and IT security are beginning to converge, even if physical and IT security personnel are not. For example, he says, most modern data centers are managed and controlled by IP-connected access control devices, HVAC systems, and Web cameras, among other items.
Easy Paths To Security
Many enterprises, especially in today’s challenging economic environment, can’t afford to purchase cutting-edge security measures or hire armies of security consultants to protect their businesses. However, there are easy, common-sense ways to ensure an organization’s physical assets are well protected.
3VR’s Russell says image quality and camera placement are critical pieces to every data center’s security system. Russell says enterprises should ensure cameras are collecting high-quality footage that provides a meaningful snapshot of what is happening within the organization at any single time.
“Your cameras are the eyes in your security operation,” he says. “Invest in high-resolution, good-quality footage and put serious thought into deliberate camera placement.”
Don Culver, founder of Safe Zone Ballistics (www.safezoneballistics.com), says the easiest way to improve an enterprise’s defenses is to be proactive with security. Entry points, for example, should be fortified, and access to secure materials or rooms should be reconfigured to include access control using cards and fortification by adding wall panels, windows, and doors that protect against blasts or ballistic attacks.
According to Jain, administrators should keep in mind that continually improving an enterprise’s defenses will never be easy. “The scale and complexity of security breaches will always strive to be a step ahead of the latest technologies,” he says.
One area that can be quickly fortified is the automation of key internal policies across the entire organization designed to create a standards-based approach to managing security. For example, he says, using a centralized, automated approach to managing identities, compliance, and events can allow security practitioners to reduce manual error-prone processes and streamline operations.
Security: Is It Ever Too Much?
Culver says “there is no such thing as too much protection.” Unfortunately, there is typically too little protection, and no one is concerned about reinforcing it until it’s too late.
3VR’s Russell says even though there is never too much security, there is often too much information. For example, he says, unless video footage can be managed, analyzed, and searched, it is not very useful.
Quantum Secure’s Jain says technology is finally catching up with the “guards and gates” world of physical security and is helping to automate this protection by providing real-time reporting of trends, operational data, and security metrics. Technology, he adds, can help security personnel find out very quickly whether quick action is needed to mitigate a security situation. 
by Sixto Ortiz Jr.
Budget-Saving Tips
Providing physical protection for your data center doesn’t have to break the bank. Here are some tips for budget-minded security.
Provide supervision. Scott Armstrong, vice president of marketing and alliances at Gideon Technologies (www.gideontechnologies.com), says organizations should always escort unauthorized individuals and ensure the person is supervised at all times.
Make use of security cameras. Armstrong says organizations should install security cameras and, above all, monitor them.
Restrict access. Another cheap way to ensure physical security, he adds, is providing limited access to the data center and ensuring all access authorization procedures are followed.
Mind the paperwork. Access reports should be maintained and reviewed regularly.
Apply common sense. At the end of the day, security is all about common sense: If a situation looks suspicious, it probably is. Everyone in the organization, not just security personnel, should always be on the lookout for potential security breaches. |
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