Security+All-In-One Edition

Chapter 7 – Physical Security

Brian E. Brzezicki

Note

Note: A LOT of this chapter is “missing” from the book. That is the book is only 12 pages..I have put over 70 slides in this chapter (one of the longest) These things you should expect to see on the exam. So pay extra attention to these slides!

Physical Security

There is NO security without Physical Security

We spend A LOT of money on logical (technical) security. However without physical security there is NO security. Physical security is a weak link usually!

• Attackers can walk off with machines• If I can get physical access to your machine I will

be able to get whatever info I want or load “bad” software on it, or even just change the root/administrator account password!

• Plug into a network and attack it from within!

Some physical Security Attacks (187)

• LiveCDs (Knoppix, BackTrack)

• USB/CDs and “auto play” – talk about this LATER

• No BIOS/Default BIOS passwords

• Copying off sensitive data to removable media

• Disk Imaging (how?)

• Theft of equipment

Physical Security Layers (n/b)

• Deterrence – fences, guards, signs• Reducing/Avoiding damage by Delaying

attackers – slow down the attackers (locks, guards, barriers)

• Detection – motion sensors, smoke detectors

• Incident assessment – response of guards, and determination of damage level

• Response procedures – fire suppression, law enforcement notification etc

Physical Security Terms and Concepts

Bollards

Bollards (n/b)

Bollards are small concrete pillars, sometimes containing lights or flowers.

They are used to stop people from driving through a wall, often put between a building and parking lot.

They can be arranged to form a natural path for walking.

Fencing (n/b)

Can deter and delay intruders, first line of defense

• Fences 3-4 feet high only deter casual trespassers

• Fences 6-7 feet high are considered too high to climb easily

• Fences 8 feet high should are considered serious. Use for Critical areas

Walls (n/b)

You know what they are

• Choose a wall with the strength to support the security application. This might also include fire rating!

Zones (n/b)Fences, Walls, Bollards, etc along with access

control mechanisms can be brought together to create “security” zones. Each zone has some different security level or work type.

• Example. – Lobby – low security, public access– Offices – medium security, restricted access– R&D – high security, extremely restricted access

(see next slide)

Security Zones (n/b)• Zones are used to physically separate areas

into different security areas.

•Each inner level becomes more restricted and more secure

•Stronger Access Control and Monitoring at the entry point to each zone

Lighting (n/b)

Lighting is obviously important in perimeter security. It decreases the probability of criminal activity.

• Each light should cover it’s own zone and there should not be gaps in the coverage

• Coverage in fact should overlap.

• Lighting should be directed AWAY from the security guards etc.

Locks (n/b)

• Mechanical – use a physical key (Warded lock or tumbler)– Warded lock – basic padlock, cheap (image)– Tumbler lock – more piece that a warded lock,

key fits into a cylinder which moved the metal pieces such that the bolt can slide into the locked and unlocked position.

• Pin tumbler – uses pins• Wafer – uses wafer (not very secure)

Warded Lock (n/b)

Tumbler Lock (n/b)

Attacks against key type locks (n/b)

Tension wrench – shaped like an L and is used to apply tension to the cylinder, then use a pick to manipulate the individual pins.

Pick – used in conjunction with a tension wrench to manipulate the pins into place so you can turn the cylinder

Visualization next slide

Lock Picking

Locks

• Combination locks – rather than use a key, turn

Locks (n/b)

• Cipher locks – electronic locks– Combination can be changed– Combination can be different for different

people– Can work during different times of day– Can have emergency codes– Can have “override codes”

Cipher Lock

Man Trap (n/b)

Man Trap (n/b)

• Avoids piggybacking

• Can trap intruder

Surveillance (n/b)

CCTVs and recording devices to record video of site.

• It deters criminal activity

• Can be used later as evidence or to determine what happened.

• CCTVs should generally have PTZ capability, and auto-irises.

Intrusion Detection Systems (n/b)

IDS (physical IDS, NOT network IDS) – help detect the physical presence of an intruder.

Can be multiple types.Electromechanical – traditional types,

determine a opening of a window by a break in connectivity.– Vibration sensors are also electromechanical– Pressure pads are also electromechanical

IDS (n/b)Photoelectric – uses light beams to detect when

something crosses the beam. (slide image)

Passive Infrared (PIR) – monitors heat signatures in a room. (a lot of home automatically light systems are of this type) (slide image)

Acoustical Detection – uses sound

Proximity detector/capacitance detectors – emits a measurable magnetic field. If field is disrupted it sets off the alarm. (usually this field is a very small area, as magnetic fields disperse quickly as the area increases)

Passive Infrared IDSPassive Infrared (PIR) – monitors heat signatures in a room. (a lot of home automatic light systems are of this type)

Photoelectric IDSPhotoelectric –

uses light beams to detect when something crosses the beam.

Personnel Access Controls

Personnel access controls

There are different technologies to grant access to a building, generally called an “access token”

• User activated – a user does something (swipe cards, biometrics)

• Proximity devices/transponders – a system recognizes the presence of an object. (Electronic access control tokens) is a generic term for proximity authentication systems)

Smart Cards Vs. Memory cards

What is memory Cards? (see slide)

What is a smart Card? (see slide)

How are they different?

Which is more secure?

Memory Cards

Smart Card

Biometrics (195)

• Bio – life, metrics - measure

• Biometrics verifies (authenticates) an individuals identity by analyzing unique personal attribute (something they ARE)

• Require enrollment before being used* (what is enrollment? Any ideas)

• EXPENSIVE

• COMPLEX

Biometrics (195)

• Can be based on – behavior (signature dynamics) – might change over

time– Physical attribute (fingerprints, iris, retina scans)– We will talk about the different types of biometrics

later

• Can give incorrect results• False negative – Type 1 error* (annoying)• False positive – Type 2 error* (very bad)

CER (n/b)

• Crossover Error Rate (CER)* is an important metric that is stated as a percentage that represents the point at which the false rejection rate equals the false positive rate.

• Lower number CER is better/more accurate*. (3 is better than an 4)

• Also called Equal Error Rate

• Use CER to compare vendors products objectively

Biometrics (n/b)

• Systems can be calibrated, for example of you adjust the sensitivity to decrease fall positives, you probably will INCREASE false negatives, this is where the CER come in. (see next slide)

• Some areas (like military) are more concerned with one error than the other (ex. Would rather deny a valid user than accept an invalid user)

• Can you think of any situations for each case?

CER (n/b)

Biometric problems? (n/b)• Expensive

• Unwieldy

• Intrusive

• Can be slow (should not take more than 5-10 seconds)*

• Complex (enrollment)

Biometric Types Overview (n/b)

We will talk in more depth of each in the next couple slides

• Fingerprint• Hand Geometry• Retina Scan• Iris Scan• Keyboard Dynamics• Voice Print• Facial Scan

Finger Print

Fingerprint (n/b)• Measures ridge endings an bifurcations

(changes in the qualitative or topological structure) and other details called “minutiae”

• Full fingerprint is stored, the scanners just compute specific features and values and sends those for verification against the real fingerprint.

Hand Geometry (n/b)

• Overall shape of hand

• Length and width of fingers

• This is significantly different between individuals

Retina Scan

Retina Scan (n/b)

• Reads blood vessel patterns on the back of the eye.

• Patterns are extremely unique

Iris Scan

Iris Scan (n/b)

• Measures colors

• Measures rifts

• Measures rings

• Measures furrow (wrinkle, rut or groove)

• Provides most assurance of all biometric systems

• IRIS remains constant through adulthood

• Place scanner so sun does NOT shine through aperture*

Keyboard dynamics (n/b)

• Measure the speeds and motions as you type, including timed difference between characters typed. For a given phrase

• This is more effective than a password believe it or not, as it is hard to repeats someone's typing style, where as it’s easy to get someone's password.

Voice Print (n/b)

• Enrollment, you say several different phrases.

• Measures speech patterns, inflection and intonation (i.e.. pitch and tone)

• For authentication words are jumbled.

Facial Scan

Facial Scan (n/b)

Geometric measurements of

• Bone structure

• Nose ridges

• Eye width

• Chin shape

• Forehead size

Biometrics wrap up

We covered a bunch of different biometrics

• Understand some are behavioral* based– Voice print– Keyboard dynamics– Can change over time

• Some are physically based– Fingerprint– Iris scan

Biometrics wrap Up

• Fingerprints are probably the most commonly used and cheapest

• Iris scanning provides the most “assurance”

• Some methods are intrusive

• Understand Type I and Type II errors

• Be able to define CER, is a lower CER value better or worse?

• Privacy Issues

Device Security

Device SecurityDevices can be stolen• Use a drive encryption technology such as bit

locker or encrypting file system• Use device or port locks to secure items• Laptops

– should be inventoried – “Lojack” type devices should be installed.– Encrypt the Disks

(more)

Device Security

Be wary of USB devices and CDs etc that you find or are given (bank story)

• Disable USB if possible

• \HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\UsbStor – set to 4 (from 3)

• Disable Auto Play

• Use privacy Screen

• Securely Dispose of Devices

Environmental Security

Fire Suppression

Different fire suppression types based on class of fire

• A

• B

• C

• D

(we’ll talk about each of these)

Fire Suppression

A – Common Combustibles• Use for: Wood, paper, laminates• Uses water or foam as suppression

agent

B – Liquid• Use for: gas or oil fires• Use: Gas (CO2), foam, dry powders

Fire Suppression

C – Electrical• Use on: electrical equipment and wires• Uses: Gas, CO2, dry powder

D – Combustible materials• Use on: combustible chemicals (sodium,

potassium)• Uses: dry powder

Fire Suppression (Halon)

Before any type of dangerous gas (Halon, CO2) is released there should be some type of warning emitted. (CO2 will suffocate people)

Halon is a type of gas that used to be commonly used, it is no longer used do to CFCs. (it is also dangerous to people). It was banned by the “Montreal protocol”* in 1987. effective replacement is FM-200 or others on top of pg 444*

Fire Suppression Note

HVAC system should be set to shutdown when an automatically suppression system activates.

Now we need to understand automatic fire suppression systems

Sprinkler HeadsThe “Thermal Linkage” is often a small glass tube with colored liquid that is designed to shatter at a fixed temperature.

The fire will heat the Thermal Linkage to its break point, at which point the water in the pipe will flow freely through the opening at a high pressure. The pressure of the water causes it to spread in a wide area when it hits the deflector

Automatic fire suppression (n/b)Sprinklers – • Wet Pipe – high pressure water in pipe directly

above sprinkler heads

•Deluge – Type of wet pipe with a high volume of water dispersal, not used for data centers.

Automatic fire suppression (n/b)

• Dry Pipe – Air in pipe overhead, water in reservoir, released on fire detection

Automatic fire suppression (n/b)

• Pre action – like dry pipe, but a delay exists before release. Best for computer rooms if a water based system is used.

Fire random tidbit (n/b)

The space between the “ceiling” and the actual floor above is called the “plenum”. You should know this term, you should understand that when running network cables and other plastics insulated wiring, you need to use a certain type of wire called “plenum” wire, this is because burning plastic gives off toxic gases and small fires in plenum areas could distribute toxic gases throughout the building air systems.

Environmental Issues (n/b)

Improper environments can cause damage to equipment or services

Water and Gas• Make sure there are shutoff valves and that they

have positive drains (flow out instead of in, why?)• Humidity

– Humidity must not be too high or too low• Low – static• High – rust/corrosion

– Hygrometer measures humidity(more)

Environmental Issues (n/b)

• Static electricity – besides ensuring proper humidity– use anti-static flooring in data processing areas– Don’t use carpeting in data centers– Wear anti-static bands when working inside

computers.

Electric power issues (n/b)

There power interference that stops you from getting “clean power” this is called “line noise”.

Electric power issues (n/b)

Line Noise can be caused by the following

• Electromagnetic Interference – electromagnetic that can create noise. (motors can generate fields)

• Radio Frequency Interference – fluorescent lights

Electrical Power Issues (n/b)There are times where the voltage delivered falls

outside normal thresholdsExcess• Spike – momentary high voltage• Surge – prolongedShortage• Sag/dip – momentary low voltage• Brownout – prolonged low voltageLoss• Fault – momentary outage• Black out

Electrical power issues (n/b)

• “In rush current” – when a bunch of things are turned on, power demands are usually higher, and may stress power supplies, causing a sag/dip

• Try to have computer equipment on different electrical supplies. Do not use microwaves or vacuums on computer power lines.

Power best practices (n/b)• Use surge protectors on desktops• Do not daisy change surge protectors (see next

slide)• Employ power monitor to detect current and voltage

changes• Use regulators or line conditioners in computer

rooms• Use UPS systems in computer rooms• If possible shield power cables• Do not run power over or under fluorescent lights

Computer Room (n/b)

• Temperature and Humidity levels should be properly maintained– Humidity too low, static electricity*– Humidity too high, corrosion of metal parts*

• CR should be on separate electrical systems than the rest of the building

• Should have redundant power systems and UPS

Review QuestionsQ. What feature can allow a windows computer to

automatically run a Trojan program on an inserted CD or USB drive

Q. Which of the following water based automatic fire suppression systems would be best used for a data center.

Q. Why is access to a network jack a risk?

Q. What is the CER in terms of biometrics

Q. What is a type 1 and type 2 error?

Review Questions

Q. If providing access to a bank vault, would I prefer higher false positives or higher false negatives?

Q. What type of fire rating is electrical fires?

Q. What is the difference between smart cards and memory cards.

Q. What type of motion sensor detects a human through emanated heat?