Premises Security

The environment determines whether cable should be shielded or unshielded.

Shielding is the sheath surrounding and protecting the cable wires from electromagnetic leakage and interference. Sources of this electromagnetic activity (EMI)—commonly referred to as noise—include elevator motors, fluorescent lights, generators, air conditioners, and photocopiers. To protect data in areas with high EMI, choose a shielded cable.

Foil is the most basic cable shield, but a copper-braid shield provides more protection. Shielding also protects cables from rodent damage. Use a foil-shielded cable in busy office or retail environments. For industrial environments, you might want to choose a copper-braid shield.

For quiet office environments, choose unshielded cable.

Every business should have a reliable door-locking system at the front lines of its defense. One fail-safe way to get one is to use electromagnetic locks.

These types of locks include an electromagnet that you mount on the door frame and a metal strike plate that you attach to the door itself. Adapter and angle brackets can be added to accommodate different swinging patterns. When a door is closed, magnetic force holds the door in place. Shutting off power to the magnet, such as by a signal sent from a card reader or a central access control system, enables the door to be opened.

Most quality magnetic locks offer a minimum of 300 pounds of holding force. To stop the most determined intruders, you can find maglocks that offer up to 1500 pounds or more of holding force.

The type of magnetic system you choose depends on the door’s location, whether it’s a gate on an outside fence, a door to an ordinary interior office, or an access point to an industrial research lab. Magnetic locks installed on doors are usually used with traditional door-latch hardware, and they strongly suit entryways that see a lot of traffic. Plus magnetic systems operate electrically, so they have a long life.

You must also consider the level of safety so employees or tenants can make a quick exit in the event of a fire while first responders can enter without obstruction. All magnetic locks have an egress mechanism to enable a door to unlock in such emergencies. Because they’re electronic devices, they unlock automatically if there’s a power outage. Some can also be unlocked upon command from a fire panel.

Simple locks for ordinary doors and gates
For locking low-level security access points, such as gates to fenced-in areas of a corporate campus or parking lots, you may only need small magnetic locks that can provide a surprising amount of holding force when affixed to a door frame or gate post. These locks may involve some level of remote operation with a central or distributed access control system.

These compact-style magnetic locks can also be used in interior applications. Their slim size makes them the ideal type of lock for cabinet doors, drawers, file cabinets, and safe-deposit boxes. And as long as they have a well-confined magnetic field, they can be also be used in electronically noisy areas, such as computer rooms or factory floors. Many small magnetic locks even include surge suppressors to prevent power anomalies from bringing down their connected access control systems.

Locks specifically designed for exit door control
If you need a lock for security that complies with National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Life Safety Code provisions, then you’ll likely need a lock that’s specifically designed for exit door control systems. These units are ideal for use with fire- and hazard-detection systems to provide unobstructed egress.

Low-security exit door magnetic locks can be used with lightweight interior doors and typically have a holding force that’s sufficient for many supervised or interior control installations. These locks can be controlled and monitored individually, sequentially, or simultaneously from one or several locations. They are ideal for perimeter protection systems with automatic swinging and sliding door systems as well as intrusion alarm systems.

Locks for harsh, noisy environments
For doors or gates within an industrial environment or anywhere there’s an extraordinary amount of electromagnetic noise, choose magnetic locks specifically designed for these applications. Industrial magnetic locks draw their strength from a housing that seals their internal electronics from interference. They may also feature a metal-plated housing armature and face that resist rust and corrosion.

Helpful magnetic door accessories
Many magnetic lock technologies address some common door problems. Mortise lock-and pull-systems, for instance, address door “racking“ that can occur with header-mounted magnetic locks. They work by putting the magnet directly opposite the direction of the pull. Some lock-and-pull door systems even have magnetic bond sensors that detect a misaligned mating of the armature or whether there isn’t enough power to maintain the lock’s rated holding force.

To override a magnetic lock that’s attached to an electrically operated entrance control system or similar equipment, you can add key-operated mortise cylinder switches. These switches enable authorized users to bypass or shunt door alarms and delayed-release exit control systems with a key. This way, you can restrict door access to key-carrying personnel, such as guards, during certain times of the day.

For applications where you want to provide easy exit, add exit-release push buttons to your magnetic doors. These conspicuous (often red-colored or -lettered, and sometimes illuminated) palm button assemblies provide easy door release.

You can also set up some button- or plate-operated systems to sound an alarm and automatically lock the door once it’s opened. These doors can only be unlocked with a key.

Other button- or plate-controlled exit systems include a console-style key switch for day/night control of automatic doors. You can mount this console under a desk or counter for use by personnel with a key at certain times of the day.

What you don’t know can—and will—hurt you. Know your security risks and keep your site safe from harm.

Security risks affect every computer, whether the machine is connected to a network or not. There are basically four types of risk, and some often overlap the other.
• Bugs or misconfiguration problems in the Web server that enable unauthorized remote users (hackers or crackers) to access the system to steal data and/or cause greater harm.
• Active content (say a virus) on the browser side that crashes the browser, damages the user’s system, or breaches the user’s privacy.
• Interception of network data sent from browser to server or vice versa via network eavesdropping. Eavesdropping can occur at any point along the pathway between the browser and server. These points include the network on the browser’s side of the connection, the network on the server’s side of the connection (including intranets), the end-user’s ISP, the server’s ISP, and either ISP’s regional access provider—quite a lot of points. So-called “secure“ browsers and servers are only designed to protect confidential information against network eavesdropping. If system security isn’t available on both the browser and server sides, confidential documents could be compromised.
• Viruses installed via software onto network or standalone computers.

So which operating systems are more susceptible to attack? In general, the ones which are touted as more powerful and flexible. UNIX® systems are a prime example. They come with a large number of built-in servers, services, and scripting languages which provide hackers multiple portals of entry to exploit. By contrast, less capable operating systems (apologies in advance) like Windows® and Macintosh® are tougher to exploit. In short, what you trade away in security you make up for in capability and vice versa.

The same logic extends to Web servers. The more features that are offered, the more likely hackers can find inroads. One classic case involved a UNIX® server that featured a security hole. The hole that enabled outsiders to execute arbitrary commands on the server host—and that was a proverbial barrel of monkeys for Web administrators.

Common Gateway Interface (CGI) scripts are also a major source of security risks. Although the CGI protocol isn’t inherently insecure, the scripts must be written with the same kind of care accorded to the server itself. However, some scripts aren’t created with finesse, and trusting Web administrators often install them without knowing any better.

Server-side includes, which are snippets of server directives embedded in HTML documents, are another potential source of problems. A subset of their directives instruct the server to execute arbitrary system commands and CGI scripts, and unintentional side effects can be introduced.

So what can you do to keep on top of the latest security holes? Call Black Box Tech Support at 724-746-5500.

You can also implement some common sense procedures that go a long way to keeping data-communication assets safe from harm.
• Encourage employees to choose passwords that aren’t obvious.
• Require employees to change passwords every 90 days.
• Keep your virus-protection subscriptions current.
• Educate employees about the risks of e-mail attachments.
• Implement a comprehensive network security plan.
• Assess your security plan and levels of security.
• Remove network access immediately for all former employees.
• Provide a secure, centrally managed server for telecommuters.
• Update your Web server software.
• Don’t run any unnecessary network services.