Cyber security and physical security

Benefits combining cyber security and physical security.

An attacker who gains physical access to a trusted computer can boot from an external drive, bypass user credentials, extract the hard disc, access the network, and disable other physical security features. If an attacker gains access to an organization’s identity management system, they can open doors, disable alarms, hijack surveillance feeds, overheat systems, and disable escape routes. There are numerous benefits to combining physical security and cybersecurity. Maintenance of surveillance and physical access systems is integrated with cybersecurity maintenance, allowing IT equipment to be patched as needed. We would insist physical backups can be linked to risk management, and detective and preventative measures can be expanded to include physical intrusion detection. Combining the areas also eliminates budget competition, allowing for a unified (and more realistic) risk management plan that directs resources to the most pressing needs independent of technology or activity.

 

Risks of not combining cyber security and physical security.

Businesses that continue to approach physical and cyber security as separate entities risk falling behind as technology improves and threats evolve. There are numerous barriers to integrating security oversight, including disparate cultures and skill sets, yet failure is not an option for organisations preparing for tomorrow’s problems.

However, we may say this is no easy task. Breaking down the barriers between an enterprise’s IT security function and its corporate or physical security function is difficult and cannot be accomplished by simply merging them on an organisational chart. It necessitates integrating information security management, physical and personnel security, business continuity and disaster recovery planning, and risk management. Threats should be classified at the highest level of decision-making not by their source, but by how probable they are to occur and how serious they are to the organisation.

Skills disparity

Merging IT and physical security management risks creates skills gaps because the expertise required to successfully deliver each capacity is possessed by people from different backgrounds and with different perspectives of threat and risk. The idea is to combine the experience and talents from both roles into a single manager, but this will not be easy. How each business grew up is the problem that these two industries face in combining.  You have a unique set of skills that are rarely never found in the same organisation. The challenge is exacerbated by the rate at which threats evolve. Today’s security managers need a comprehensive view of risk assessment and must constantly monitor the danger horizon for changes.

Software and Hardware

The blurring of cyber and physical security borders is visible in the realm of security equipment or using gap analysis. Security technology is becoming increasingly internet-connected, from cameras and motion sensors to access control. Internet-based security systems are more adaptable and scalable than traditional systems. However, the growth of IP-connected devices makes it more vital than ever to safeguard equipment and the underlying networks that manage it against cyber intrusion risks such as surveillance and disabling. It is just as vital to identify infiltration as it is to prevent it, for example, by monitoring systems for odd behaviour and actions that could indicate hostile intent.

Case Study: Devil’s Ivy

The exploitable vulnerability known as Devil’s Ivy demonstrated how attackers may remotely access security equipment connected via IoT, such as security cameras, sensors, and access card readers. A single weakness in a widely used code library might leave millions of devices offered by dozens of vendors vulnerable to hackers. While a patch for the vulnerability was rapidly provided, the security hole is likely to remain on thousands of unpatched devices in forgotten corners of many networks for years to come, giving easy pickings for attackers.

Internal Threat

Another reason driving security convergence is the likelihood of breached physical security resulting in cyber vulnerabilities, as access to IT systems is frequently made easier by physical security hardware.

• A lapse in physical security might be one of the most serious dangers to IT security.
• Once you’re on the premises, you have access to network jacks and USB connections and all sorts of things that become obviously extremely helpful to you from a cyber-attack standpoint.
• Spy drones can allow cyber intruders to approach close enough to a building to gain access to Wi-Fi networks, perhaps jamming them to disable equipment like wireless security cameras or access confidential data. We call them flying desktops.

Roles in security management must be integrated in order to handle tomorrow’s problems.