Physical Security

Physical Security

Measures taken to protect tangible assets, like buildings, equipment, and people, from harm or unauthorized access.

Bollards

Short, sturdy vertical posts designed to control or prevent access by vehicles to an area or structure

Fences

Barriers that are made of posts, wire, or boards that are erected to enclose a space or separate areas

Surveillance System

Organized strategy or setup designed to observe and report activities in a given area

Access Control Vestibule

Double-door system with two electronically controlled doors that ensure only one door is open at any given moment

Piggybacking

Involves two people, with and without access, entering a secure area

Tailgating

Occurs whenever an authorized person closely follows someone iwth access without their knowledge or consent

What are fences meant to keep out of our facilities?

People

What are bollards mean to keep out of our facilities?

Vehicles

Brute Force

Attack where access to a system is gained by trying all of the possibilities until breaking through

Forcible Entry

Act of gaining unauthorized access to a space by physically breaking or bypassing its barriers, such as windows, doors, or fences

Tampering with Security Devices

Involves manipulating security devices to create new vulnerabilities that can be exploited

Confronting Security Personnel

Involves the direct confronation or attack of security personnel

Pan-Tilt-Zoom (PTZ)

Can move the camera or its angle to better detect issues during an intrusion

Security Guards

Flexible and adaptable forms of serveillance that organizations use

Lighting

Proper lighting is crucial for conducting effective surveillance using both video and security guards

Sensors

Devices that detect and respond to external changes in the environment and conver the information into readable signals or data

Infrared Sensors

Detect changes in infrared radiation that is emitted by warm bodies like humans or animals

Pressure Sensors

Activate when a specified minimum amount of weight is detected on the sensore that is embedded into the floor or a mat

Microwave Sensors

Detect movement in an area by emitting microwave pulses and measuring their reflection off moving objects

Ultrasonic Sensors

Measure the reflection of ultrasonic waves off moving objects

Visual Obstruction

Blocking the camera’s line of sight (paint on camera, etc)

Blind Sensors and Cameras

Overwhelming the sensor or camera with a sudden burst of light to render it ineffective for a limited period of time

Acoustic Interference

Jamming or playing loud music to disrupt the microphone’s functionality

Electromagnetic Interference (EMI)

Jamming the signals that surveillance systems rely on to monitor the environment

Physical Environment Attack

Exploiting the environment around the surveillance equipment to compromise its functionality

Piggybacking

Person with legitimate access intentionally allows another person without authorization to enter a secure area with them

Door Locks

Physical security control that is designed to secure entryways by restricting and regulating access to a particular space or property

False Acceptance Rate (FAR)

The rate that the system authenticates a user as valid, even though that person should not have been granted access to the system

False Rejection Rate (FRR)

Occurs any time the biometrics system denies a user who should have been allowed access to the system

Equal Error Rate (EER)

More commonly called Crossover Error Rate (CER), which uses a measure of the effectiveness of a given biometrics system to achieve a balance

What kind of crossover error rate does a good lock have?

A good lock will have a lower crossover error rate

Cipher lock

Provides excellent protection using a mechanical locking mechanism with push buttons that are numbered and require a person to enter the correct combination inorder to open that door

Access Badge Cloning

Refers to copying the data from an RFID or NFC card or badge onto another card or device

What are the 4 steps to cloning an access badge?

Scanning, Data Extraction, Writing to a new card, and using a cloned access badge

How do you stop card cloning?

1. Implement advanced encryption in card-based authentication systems

2. Implement Multi-factor authentication (MFA)

3. Regularly update the security protocols

4. Educate the users

5. Users should implement the use of shielded wallets or sleeves with RFID access badges

6. Monitor and audit the access logs