PHYSICAL SECURITY AND BUILDINGS

Physical Security and Buildings

Physical Security and Buildings

Introduction

Ensuring the buildings and premises are secure is of paramount importance in today's knowledge based society. The theft of documents, equipment and information can damage an organization's reputation and even their very existence. The physical security portfolio should be fully integrated into the IT, Unified Communications and Building infrastructure as it is important for the security where single or multiple locations are managed from a central point.

Using the IP network as the core platform for security services ensures an increasing return on the investment made in the IT infrastructure. The IP network provides higher quality images, flexible and scalable solutions, wider and faster access to information and new intelligent features not available with legacy systems. The physical security solutions should utilize power over Ethernet technology taken from the IP network. This reduces the need to provide electrical cabling to new or difficult parts of the estate, thus simplifying the installation and making the solution cost effective to deploy and maintain.

Approaching Physical Security for Buildings

Physical security of buildings is a continuous process that cannot be approached in an unpremeditated manner. The approach must be consistent with the goals of the organization and be applied in accordance with the standards and guidelines set forth in the information security policy. Because there is little change in the world of physical security (at least not as quickly as the rest of the controls within information security), it is often considered to be boring or unimportant. This misunderstanding often causes physical security of buildings to be neglected or practiced haphazardly. Typically, the greatest weakness of any information security control is not the control itself, but the improper application of a control. Physical security of buildings must be approached with the same energy, focus, and seriousness as any other information security control. In fact, security controls must be approached and applied in a consistent and predetermined manner to achieve predictable, repeatable, and effective information security (Anderson, 2005).

Locks, guards, surveillance cameras, and identification badges are merely the tools and equipment of physical security of buildings. To plan and design physical security of buildings, the following questions should be answered:

- What are you protecting?

- How important is the information being protected (in terms of economic, political, or public safety)?

- For whom are you protecting and what is more important to them?

- Confidentiality, integrity, or availability?

- What and who are you protecting it from?

Benefits

The benefits of the physical security of buildings include the following;

- Video is captured only when needed reducing storage requirements & speeding up search times.

- Access to buildings (access control) ensures that only authorized personnel are granted entry.

- Access Control is fully integrated with surveillance ensuring video is captured on events such as an unauthorized card read or when a door is forced.

Physical Security of Buildings and Sustainability

- The corporate telephony integration enables to view visitors from the desk phones and to open doors or switch on lights from their ...