Physical (Environmental)

Security
Chapter Three

Presented by Hayan Tariq

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Physical Security
The Physical (Environmental) Security domain
addresses the threats, vulnerabilities, and
countermeasures

that

can

be

utilized

to

physically protect an enterprises resources

and sensitive information.

These resources

include people, the facility in which they

work,

and

the

data,

equipment,

support

systems, media, and supplies they utilize.

Physical Security
The candidate will be expected to know the
elements involved in choosing a secure site,
its design and configuration, and the methods
for securing the facility against unauthorized
access, theft of equipment and information,
and the environmental and safety measures
needed to protect people, the facility, and its
resources.
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Introduction
Threats to physical security include:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Interruption of services
Theft
Physical damage
Unauthorized disclosure
Loss of system integrity

Introduction
Threats fall into many categories:
1. Natural environmental threats (e.g.,
floods, fire)
2. Supply system threats (e.g., power
outages, communication interruptions)
3. Manmade threats (e.g., explosions,
disgruntled employees, fraud)
4. Politically motivated threats (e.g.,
strikes, riots, civil disobedience)
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Introduction
Primary consideration in physical
security is that nothing should impede
life safety goals.

Ex.:

Dont lock the only fire exit door from

the outside.

Safety: Deals with the protection of

life and assets against fire, natural
disasters, and devastating accidents.
Security: Addresses vandalism, theft,
and attacks by individuals.
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Physical Security Planning

Physical security, like general
information security, should be based
on a layered defense model.
Layers are implemented at the
perimeter and moving toward an
asset.
Layers include: Deterrence, Delaying,
Detection, Assessment, Response
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Physical Security Planning

A physical security program must address:
1. Crime and disruption protection through deterrence
(fences, security guards, warning signs, etc.).
2. Reduction of damages through the use of delaying
mechanisms (e.g., locks, security personnel, etc.).
3. Crime or disruption detection (e.g., smoke
detectors, motion detectors, CCTV, etc.).
4. Incident assessment through response to incidents
and determination of damage levels.
5. Response procedures (fire suppression
mechanisms, emergency response processes, etc.).

Physical Security Planning

Crime Prevention Through
Environmental Design (CPTED)
Is a discipline that outlines how the proper
design of a physical environment can
reduce crime by directly affecting human
behavior.
Concepts developed in 1960s.
Think: Social Engineering

Physical Security Planning

CPTED has three main strategies:
1. Natural Access Control
2. Natural Surveillance
3. Territorial Reinforcement

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Physical Security Planning

Natural Access Control
The guidance of people entering and
leaving a space by the placement of
doors, fences, lighting, and landscaping
Be familiar with: bollards, use of security
zones, access barriers, use of natural
access controls

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Physical Security Planning

Natural Surveillance
Is the use and placement of physical
environmental features, personnel
walkways, and activity areas in ways
that maximize visibility.
The goal is to make criminals feel
uncomfortable and make all other
people feel safe and comfortable,
through the use of observation.

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Physical Security Planning

Territorial Reinforcement
Creates physical designs that highlight
the companys area of influence to give
legitimate owners a sense of ownership.
Accomplished through the use of walls,
lighting, landscaping, etc.

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Physical Security Planning

CPTED is not the same as target
hardening
Target hardening focuses on denying
access through physical and artificial
barriers (can lead to restrictions on
use, enjoyment, and aesthetics of
the environment).

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Physical Security Planning

Issues with selecting a

facility site:

Visibility (terrain, neighbors, population

of area, building markings)
Surrounding area and external factors
(crime rate, riots, terrorism, first
responder locations)
Accessibility (road access, traffic,
proximity to transportation services)
Natural Disasters (floods, tornados,
earthquakes)

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Physical Security Planning

Mantrap: A small room with two doors. The
first door is locked; a person is identified and
authenticated. Once the person is authenticated
and access is authorized, the first door opens and
allows the person into the mantrap. The person
has to be authenticated again in order to open
the second door and access a critical area. The
mantrap area could have a weight sensing floor
as an additional control to prevent literal
piggybacking.

http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/mantrap--int
erlocking-door-controller-.html
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Physical Security Planning

Automatic door lock configuration:
Fail safe: If a power disruption occurs,
the door defaults to being unlocked.
Fail secure: If a power disruption
occurs, the door defaults to being
locked.

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Physical Security Planning

Windows can also be used to promote
physical security.
Know the different types of glass:

Standard
Tempered
Acrylic
Wired
Laminated
Solar Window Film
Security Film
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYdVK3B
qPfk
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Physical Security Planning

Consider use of internal partitions
carefully:
True floor to true ceiling to counter
security issues
Should never be used in areas that
house sensitive systems and devices

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Internal Support Systems

Power issues:
A continuous supply of electricity assures
the availability of company resources.
Data centers should be on a different power
supply from the rest of the building
Redundant power supplies: two or more
feeds coming from two or more electrical
substations

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Internal Support Systems

Power protection:
UPS Systems
Online UPS systems
Standby UPS System

Power line conditioners

Backup Sources

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Internal Support Systems

Other power terms to know:
Ground
Noise
Transient Noise
Inrush Current
Clean Power
EMI
RFI

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Internal Support Systems

Environmental Issues
Positive Drains
Static Electricity
Temperature

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Internal Support Systems

Environmental Issues: Positive Drains
Contents flow out instead of in
Important for water, steam, gas lines

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Internal Support Systems

Environmental Issues: Static Electricity
To prevent:
Use antistatic flooring in data processing
areas
Ensure proper humidity
Proper grounding
No carpeting in data centers
Antistatic bands

http://www.esdflooring.com/
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Internal Support Systems

Environmental Issues: Temperature

Computing components can be

affected by temperature:

Magnetic Storage devices: 100 Deg. F.

Computer systems and peripherals: 175
Deg. F.
Paper products: 350 Deg. F.

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Internal Support Systems

Ventilation
Airborne materials and particle
concentration must be monitored for
inappropriate levels.
Closed Loop
Positive Pressurization

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Internal Support Systems

Fire prevention, detection, suppression
Fire Prevention: Includes training employees
on how to react, supplying the right
equipment, enabling fire suppression supply,
proper storage of combustible elements
Fire Detection: Includes alarms, manual
detection pull boxes, automatic detection
response systems with sensors, etc.
Fire Suppression: Is the use of a
suppression agent to put out a fire.

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Internal Support Systems

American Society for Testing and
Materials (ASTM) is the organization
that creates the standards that
dictate how fire resistant ratings
tests should be carried out and how
to properly interpret results.

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Internal Support Systems

Fire needs oxygen and fuel to continue to

grow.
Ignition sources can include the failure of an
electrical device, improper storage of
materials, malfunctioning heating devices,
arson, etc.
Special note on plenum areas: The space
above drop down ceilings, wall cavities, and
under raised floors. Plenum areas should
have fire detectors and should only use
plenum area rated cabling.
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Internal Support Systems

Types of Fire:

A: Common Combustibles

Elements: Wood products, paper, laminates

Suppression: Water, foam

B: Liquid

Elements: Petroleum products and coolants

Suppression: Gas, CO2, foam, dry powders

C: Electrical

Elements: Electrical equipment and wires

Suppression: Gas, CO2, dry powders

D: Combustible Metals

Elements: magnesium, sodium, potassium

Suppression: Dry powder

K: Commercial Kitchens

Elements: Cooking oil fires

Suppression: Wet chemicals such as potassium acetate.
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Internal Support Systems

Types of Fire Detectors
Smoke Activated
Heat Activated
Know the types and properties of each
general category.

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Internal Support Systems

Different types of suppression agents:

Water
Halon and halon substitutes
Foams
Dry Powders
CO2
Soda Acid

Know suppression agent properties and the types

of fires that each suppression agent combats
Know the types of fire extinguishers (A,B,C, D) that
combat different types of fires
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Internal Support Systems

Types of Sprinklers
Wet Pipe Systems (aka Closed Head
System)
Dry Pipe Systems
Preaction Systems
Deluge Systems

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Perimeter Security
Protection services can be provided
by:
Access Control Mechanisms
Physical Barriers
Intrusion Detection
Assessment
Response
Deterrents
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Perimeter Security
Fences are first line of defence
mechanisms. (Small Joke!)
Varying heights, gauge, and mesh
provides security features (know
them).
Barbed wire direction makes a
difference.

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Perimeter Security

Perimeter Intrusion Detection and

Assessment System (PIDAS):
A type of fencing that has sensors on
the wire mesh and base of the fence.
A passive cable vibration sensor sets
off an alarm if an intrusion is detected.

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Perimeter Security

Gates have 4 distinct types:

Class I: Residential usage

Class II: Commercial usage, where general
public access is expected (e.g., public parking
lot, gated community, self storage facility)
Class III: Industrial usage, where limited access
is expected (e.g., warehouse property entrance
not intended to serve public)
Class IV: Restricted access (e.g., a prison
entrance that is monitored either in person or via
CCTV)

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Perimeter Security
Locks are inexpensive access control
mechanisms that are widely
accepted and used.
Locks are considered delaying
devices.

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Perimeter Security
Types of Locks
Mechanical Locks
Warded & Tumbler

Combination Locks
Cipher Locks (aka programmable locks)
Smart locks

Device Locks
Cable locks, switch controls, slot locks,
port controls, peripheral switch controls,
cable traps
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Perimeter Security
Lock Strengths:
Grade 1 (commercial and industrial use)
Grade 2 (heavy duty residential/light duty
commercial)
Grade 3 (residential and consumer expendable)

Cylinder Categories
Low Security (no pick or drill resistance)
Medium Security (some pick resistance)
High Security (pick resistance through many
different mechanismsused only in Grade 1 & 2
locks)

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Perimeter Security
Lighting
Know lighting terms and types of lighting to
use in different situations (inside v. outside,
security posts, access doors, zones of
illumination)
It is important to have the correct lighting
when using various types of surveillance
equipment.
Lighting controls and switches should be in
protected, locked, and centralized areas.
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Perimeter Security
Continuous lighting: An array of lights that provide
an even amount of illumination across an area.
Controlled lighting: An organization should erect
lights and use illumination in such a way that does not
blind its neighbors or any passing cars, trains, or
planes.
Standby Lighting: Lighting that can be configured to
turn on and off at different times so that potential
intruders think that different areas of the facility are
populated.
Redundant or backup lighting: Should be available
in case of power failures or emergencies.
Response Area Illumination: Takes place when an IDS
detects suspicious activities and turns on the lights
within the specified area.
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Perimeter Security
Surveillance Devices
These devices usually work in conjunction
with guards or other monitoring
mechanisms to extend their capacity.
Know the factors in choosing CCTV, focal
length, lens types (fixed v. zoom), iris,
depth of field, illumination requirements

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Perimeter Security
Focal length: The focal length of a
lens defines its effectiveness in viewing
objects from a horizontal and vertical
view.
The sizes of images that will be shown
on a monitor along with the area that
can be covered by one camera are
defined by focal length.
Short focal length = wider angle views
Long focal length = narrower views

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Perimeter Security
Depth of field: Refers to the portion of
the environment that is in focus
Shallow depth of focus: Provides a
softer backdrop and leads viewers to
the foreground object
Greater depth of focus: Not much
distinction between objects in the
foreground and background.

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Perimeter Security
Intrusion Detection systems are used
to detect unauthorized entries and to
alert a responsible entity to respond.
Know the different types of IDS
systems (electro-mechanical v.
volumetric) and changes that can be
detected by an IDS system.

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Perimeter Security
Patrol Force and Guards
Use in areas where critical reasoning skills
are required

Auditing Physical Access

Need to log and review:

Date & time of access attempt

Entry point
User ID
Unsuccessful access attempts

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Physical Security
Final Concept to Guide in Assessing
Physical Security Issues on Exam:
Deterrence
Delay
Detection
Assessment
Response

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