Donkeys are smart. Take my donkey named Henry, for example. About two weeks ago he figured out how to use his nose to push up the insulator on a fiberglass post just enough that he could let himself out of his pasture and eat the – you guessed it – greener grass on the other side of the fence.
You’re probably wondering what a donkey tale has to do with cybersecurity. Well, nothing and everything. The story of Henry a.k.a The Escape Artist illustrates perfectly how easy it is for someone – or a donkey – to find a way to exploit a weakness in physical security. Henry is able to push up the insulator without getting a small zap because it’s late summer and the weeds around the fence have grown tall and thick.
I see similar situations daily in my travels. The door to an office marked “Employees Only” left wide open with confidential paperwork in plain view. The camera mounted in the ceiling with its cables dangling, unattached to the DVR or network. Overgrown shrubs, lights with bulbs that ceased to work long ago, security doors propped open for convenience…the list is endless.
The point I want to make is that physical security works best when it is maintained. We have a natural tendency to spend money on solutions and then consider our work done as soon as they are installed and confirmed operational. We need to adopt a mindset that we can never take physical security for granted. If we do, we are almost certainly assured an adversary, someone a whole lot smarter than Henry who wants to compromise or steal our assets, will take advantage of the weakness.
Look around your workplace. Are your weeds thick and tall? Even if they aren’t, when was the last time you took a walk and assessed the physical security?
- Are your windows and doors in good repair?
- Is there adequate lighting?
- Do you have CCTV? When was the last time you checked your DVR to make sure that it was recording and not overwriting too frequently? Or updated its firmware?
- Have you reviewed the permissions on your access control system for the building lately?
If you found anything that needs attention, my challenge for you is to set a deadline for the issues to be resolved. Think of it as your back to school reset. Then, do what it takes to resolve the weaknesses so you don’t end up with someone like Henry thinking the grass is greener inside the perimeter.
If you’re wondering, I had someone come brush hog and then installed a new section of fence last weekend. Henry’s days of going on a walkabout are over…until next year.