Many organizations have lost millions of dollars due to cyber-attacks. Cyber-attack is an emerging threat and is hard to eliminate them from existence. Even if we implement different ways to stop hackers from reaching our system digitally, physical insecurity and attacks are still possible. These threats highlight the internal threats where your own employees may run away with your secret formula. If you have a company with more than 200 employees, you need to be extra careful. People are worried as they have already invested so much in digital security and they paid no attention to physical security. But now with awareness, companies are investing in maintaining bulletproof security in either case (both digital physical).
As mentioned above, both are important. But don’t take physical security as a means of only formality. You must invest in a top grade physical security system to prevent anyone from hacking a door and from there hacking the main server. Know that physical access to your building gives access to everything like your company’s data, information, secrets, passwords, and even the banking records.Physical security prevents human or a gang from entering the building but that’s not the only threat. What if somebody rams down your door with a rubbish car? Your so-called physical security wouldn’t even stand a chance. Hence, putting concrete bollards is another way of maintaining complete peace of mind knowing no vehicle can smash your wall.
In addition, you would find no joy of installing physical security if you still open door through easily hack-able combination code mechanism. Locking mechanism should be given equal importance as even if someone makes it till there, your modified accessing system would do its best to prevent unauthorized access or would at least kill their time and your physical team might grab the intruders before escaping.
Data threats & how can you prevent them:
Physical access control:
Stacks of a server having confidential information must be given equal importance in terms of security. Even digital keys can be stolen which means, you need to have another level of security (within the building) for bulletproof security.
In addition, many internet satellites and SCADA are authenticated with full access to a network through which, any device can be accessed. These satellites are usually placed on remote areas such as roofs as it has no regular audience around it. However, the same opportunity creates threats for hackers to take advantage out of.
The concept firms must understand is that physical security is as important as digital security. Hackers are considered to be existing online but they do have physical presence who would are in search of companies leaving their systems wide open.
Access control systems:
Internal risks as mentioned above are something you cannot ignore. There are some employees who aren’t happy with the company’s policies and find ways to harm the company through different means. People working at the lower level do not really have access to server room or high-level systems but they do know who has the control to those rooms. If a low-level employee thinks of stealing a company’s hard drive or plans to place a tracker on your main server’s monitor than you’d wake up in the morning knowing all is lost and there nothing you can do about it. Hence, physical security is a necessity.
Fire suppression:
Now you may maintain top-level security as well as digital security, all the steps in the world are now taken, but is that it? No. someone having telescope lens and a clear view can see passwords easily. When accessing the doors of main servers or computers, these lenses can capture the letters and their sequence in few seconds. Banks, however, provide physical devices to their clients which generates a new password (every time they log in). This makes sense and prevents data thefts.
CCTV security setup:
CCTV monitoring is essential for physical data security. If you don’t prefer physical security, CCTV is your to-go option. The modern hackers now possess different gadgets that help them steal data without even letting anyone know. For example, devices can be implemented that may copy the keystrokes of your data including the documents, passwords, and other confidential information.
Such devices are hard to be seen through the naked human eye and only a camera can catch it through different means.
To stay safe, a physical lockdown of workstations becomes a hindrance for the hackers. In addition, hackers would back away knowing your system is protected with CCTV and logged entry system. In addition, you must get rid of files, documents, folders etc. that you no longer need. File shredding is a method that lets you get rid of all those files that you no longer need. You may find different file shredding programs here.
The links between physical systems and computers must be monitored on a regular basis. If a security system (having CCTV and keypads) is open to cyber-attacks than it is all downhill and such systems need to be checked.
A reliable fire system can identify the exact location from where is the fire coming, its temperature and whether it is caused by a system malfunction or not. These systems are best for workplaces having confidential information as even if there is no threat of hacker, there still exists the threat of data being lost if burned.
What makes physical security important today?
Back in the days, there was no such thing as cloud data, online transactions, company logs etc. everything existed in physical solid form. A thief could only break into a vault if he is physically present otherwise not. But now, it’s a completely different scenario where a majority of our data exists online. Hence, a hacker only needs a laptop, good connection, a remote place and he’s making millions. In addition, identities can now be stolen. In 2016, it was reported that almost 388,858 attacks of Ransomware occurred causing a total loss of £7.36B.
At this level, the company is threatened with paying ransom money otherwise the data would be published online losing its nature of being confidential.
So far, it seems threats can reach out to us through the internet or digital market and physical threat isn’t that harmful. This is where businesses collapses and find themselves at the mercy of these hackers who would give anything to steal your data.
Companies are now investing in creating a separate customer service that explains to its users how to pay off their ransom with the digital currency. Hence, Ransomware is something big, extremely big! In addition, the two skills are combining in order generate better techniques of hacking. For example, hackers are combining their efforts with physical hackers that exist on street level. It’s time to find protection.
Individual users who are facing similar situations of data thefts and losses need to be careful too. For digital security, they may opt for top security software that would help you eliminate the risk of Ransomware, malware and other emerging threats.
Businesses and corporations who are still not paying enough attention to physical security need to wake up! Try out different physical security techniques in order to avoid consequences. Your life’s work can be wiped off in seconds by hackers through digital, physical and wall breaking techniques (as mentioned above).