Lesson 21 Explaining Physical Security Flashcards
Physical access
Physical access controls are security measures that restrict and monitor access to specific physical areas or assets.
industrial camouflage
industrial camouflage to make buildings and gateways protecting high-value assets inconspicuous, or create high-visibility decoy areas to draw out potential threat actors.
proximity reader
proximity reader to detect the presence of a physical token, such as a wireless key fob or smart card.
turnstile
turnstile (a type of gateway that only allows one person through at a time)
mantrap
mantrap is where one gateway leads to an enclosed space protected by another barrier
Card cloning
Card cloning—this refers to making one or more copies of an existing card.
A lost or stolen card with no cryptographic protections can be physically duplicated.
Skimming
Skimming—this refers to using a counterfeit card reader to capture card details, which are then used to program a duplicate.
ie) Skimmers installed on ATM machines.
Malicious USB charging cables and plugs
Malicious USB charging cables and plugs -
A device may be placed over a public charging port at airports and other transit locations.
USB data blocker can provide mitigation against these juice-jacking attacks by preventing any sort of data transfer when the smartphone or laptop is connected to a charge point
Alarm Systems and Sensors
Circuit
Circuit—a circuit-based alarm sounds when the circuit is opened or closed, depending on the type of alarm.
This could be caused by a door or window opening or by a fence being cut. A closed-circuit alarm is more secure because an open circuit alarm can be defeated by cutting the circuit.
Alarm Systems and Sensors
Motion detection
Motion detection—a motion-based alarm is linked to a detector triggered by any movement within an area (defined by the sensitivity and range of the detector), such as a room.
The sensors in these detectors are either microwave radio reflection (similar to radar) or passive infrared (PIR), which detect moving heat sources.
Alarm Systems and Sensors
Noise detection
Noise detection—an alarm triggered by sounds picked up by a microphone.
Modern AI-backed analysis and identification of specific types of sound can render this type of system much less prone to false positives.
Alarm Systems and Sensors
Proximity
Proximity—RFID tags and readers can be used to track the movement of tagged objects within an area.
This can form the basis of an alarm system to detect whether someone is trying to remove equipment.
Alarm Systems and Sensors
Duress
Duress—this type of alarm is triggered manually by staff if they come under threat.
AI and machine learning smart physical security:
Motion recognition
Motion recognition—the camera system might be configured with gait identification technology.
This means that the system can generate an alert when anyone moves within sight of the camera and the pattern of their movement does not match a known and authorized individual.
AI and machine learning smart physical security:
Object detection
Object detection—the camera system can detect changes to the environment, such as a missing server, or an unknown device connected to a wall port.
AI and machine learning smart physical security:
Robot sentries
Robot sentries—surveillance systems (and in some cases weapon systems) can be mounted on a wholly or partially autonomous robot
AI and machine learning smart physical security:
Drones/UAV
Drones/UAV—cameras mounted on drones can cover wider areas than ground-based patrols
air gapped
air gapped host is one that is not physically connected to any network.
Such a host would also normally have stringent physical access controls, such as housing it within a secure enclosure, validating any media devices connected to it, and so on.
An air gap within a secure area serves the same function as a demilitarized zone. It is an empty area surrounding a high-value asset that is closely monitored for intrusions. As well as being disconnected from any network, the physical space around the host makes it easier to detect unauthorized attempts to approach the asset.
vault
vault is a room that is hardened against unauthorized entry by physical means, such as drilling or explosives.
protected distribution system (PDS)
protected distribution system (PDS) - physically secure cabled network. There are two principal risks:
- An intruder could attach eavesdropping equipment to the cable (a tap).
- An intruder could cut the cable (Denial of Service).
A hardened PDS is one where all cabling is routed through sealed metal conduit and subject to periodic visual inspection.
Faraday Cage
Faraday Cage - install communications equipment within a shielded enclosure. The cage is a charged conductive mesh that blocks signals from entering or leaving the area.
hot aisle/cold aisle arrangement
hot aisle/cold aisle arrangement -
Servers are placed back-to-back not front-to-back, so that the warm exhaust from one bank of servers is not forming the air intake for another bank
Fire suppression systems
Fire suppression systems work on the basis of the fire triangle.
The fire triangle works on the principle that a fire requires heat, oxygen, and fuel to ignite and burn.
Removing any one of those elements provides fire suppression (and prevention)
Wet-pipe sprinklers
Wet-pipe sprinklers work automatically, are triggered by heat, and discharge water.
Wet-pipe systems constantly hold water at high pressure
