Quick Tips Chapter 6: Physical And Environmental Security

Front 1

• Physical security is usually the first line of defense against environmental risks
and unpredictable human behavior.

Back 1

• Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) combines the
physical environment and sociology issues that surround it to reduce crime
rates and the fear of crime.

Front 2

• The value of property within the facility and the value of the facility itself need
to be ascertained to determine the proper budget for physical security so that
security controls are cost-effective.

Back 2

• Automated environmental controls help minimize the resulting damage and
speed the recovery process. Manual controls can be time-consuming and errorprone,
and require constant attention.

Front 3

• Construction materials and structure composition need to be evaluated for
their protective characteristics, their utility, and their costs and benefits.

Back 3

• Some physical security controls may conflict with the safety of people. These
issues need to be addressed; human life is always more important than
protecting a facility or the assets it contains.

Front 4

• When looking at locations for a facility, consider local crime, natural disaster
possibilities, and distance to hospitals, police and fire stations, airports, and
railroads.

Back 4

• The HVAC system should maintain the appropriate temperature and humidity
levels and provide closed-loop recirculating air-conditioning and positive
pressurization and ventilation.

Front 5

• High humidity can cause corrosion, and low humidity can cause static
electricity.

Back 5

• Dust and other air contaminants may adversely affect computer hardware, and
should be kept to acceptable levels.

Front 6

• Administrative controls include drills and exercises of emergency procedures,
simulation testing, documentation, inspections and reports, prescreening of
employees, post-employment procedures, delegation of responsibility and
rotation of duties, and security-awareness training.

Back 6

• Emergency procedure documentation should be readily available and
periodically reviewed and updated.

Front 7

• Proximity identification devices can be user-activated (action needs to be
taken by a user) or system sensing (no action needs to be taken by the user).

Back 7

• A transponder is a proximity identification device that does not require action
by the user. The reader transmits signals to the device, and the device responds
with an access code.

Front 8

• Exterior fencing can be costly and unsightly, but can provide crowd control
and help control access to the facility.

Back 8

• If interior partitions do not go all the way up to the true ceiling, an intruder
can remove a ceiling tile and climb over the partition into a critical portion of
the facility.

Front 9

• Intrusion detection devices include motion detectors, CCTVs, vibration
sensors, and electromechanical devices.

Back 9

• Intrusion detection devices can be penetrated, are expensive to install and
monitor, require human response, and are subject to false alarms.

Front 10

• CCTV enables one person to monitor a large area, but should be coupled with
alerting functions to ensure proper response.

Back 10

• Security guards are expensive but provide flexibility in response to security
breaches and can deter intruders from attempting an attack.

Front 11

• A cipher lock uses a keypad and is programmable.

Back 11

• Company property should be marked as such, and security guards should
be trained how to identify when these items leave the facility in an improper
manner.

Front 12

• Media should be protected from destruction, modification, theft,
unauthorized copying, and disclosure.

Back 12

• Floors, ceilings, and walls need to be able to hold the necessary load and
provide the required fire rating.

Front 13

• Water, steam, and gas lines need to have shutoff valves and positive drains
(substance flows out instead of in).

Back 13

• The threats to physical security are interruption of services, theft, physical
damage, unauthorized disclosure, and loss of system integrity.

Front 14

• The primary power source is what is used in day-to-day operations, and the
alternate power source is a backup in case the primary source fails.

Back 14

• Power companies usually plan and implement brownouts when they are
experiencing high demand.

Front 15

• Power noise is a disturbance of power and can be caused by electromagnetic
interference (EMI) or radio frequency interference (RFI).

Back 15

• EMI can be caused by lightning, motors, and the current difference between
wires. RFI can be caused by electrical system mechanisms, fluorescent lighting,
and electrical cables.

Front 16

• Power transient noise is disturbance imposed on a power line that causes
electrical interference.

Back 16

• Power regulators condition the line to keep voltage steady and clean.

Front 17

• UPS factors that should be reviewed are the size of the electrical load the UPS
can support, the speed with which it can assume the load when the primary
source fails, and the amount of time it can support the load.

Back 17

• Shielded lines protect from electrical and magnetic induction, which causes
interference to the power voltage.

Front 18

• Perimeter protection is used to deter trespassing and to enable people to enter
a facility through a few controlled entrances.

Back 18

• Smoke detectors should be located on and above suspended ceilings, below
raised floors, and in air ducts to provide maximum fire detection.

Front 19

• A fire needs high temperatures, oxygen, and fuel. To suppress it, one or more
of those items needs to be reduced or eliminated.

Back 19

• Gases, like Halon, FM-200, and other Halon substitutes, interfere with the
chemical reaction of a fire.

Front 20

• The HVAC system should be turned off before activation of a fire suppressant
to ensure it stays in the needed area and that smoke is not distributed to
different areas of the facility.

Back 20

• Portable fire extinguishers should be located within 50 feet of electrical
equipment and should be inspected quarterly.

Front 21

• CO2 is a colorless, odorless, and potentially lethal substance because it
removes the oxygen from the air in order to suppress fires.

Back 21

• Piggybacking, when unauthorized access is achieved to a facility via another
individual’s legitimate access, is a common concern with physical security.

Front 22

• Halon is no longer available because it depletes the ozone. FM-200 or other
similar substances are used instead of halon.

Back 22

• Proximity systems require human response, can cause false alarms, and
depend on a constant power supply, so these protection systems should be
backed up by other types of security systems.

Front 23

• Dry pipe systems reduce the accidental discharge of water because the water
does not enter the pipes until an automatic fire sensor indicates there is an
actual fire.

Back 23

• In locations with freezing temperatures where broken pipes cause problems,
dry pipes should be used.

Front 24

• A preaction pipe delays water release.

Back 24

• CCTVs are best used in conjunction with other monitoring and intrusion alert
methods.