Physical computer security

What is “physical security”?

In computing, physical security refers to those security practices which protect a computer and its data externally. This prevents any unwanted access to the system and any external data theft by copying. This also makes sure all the hardware components are right and are in proper working condition.

Why is Physical security essential?

A company might face a cyber threat in the form of physical risks as well. Since most of the flash drives and hard drives are portable these days, they can be carried away easily in pockets, thereby increasing their chances of being stolen. Companies nowadays are ignorant toward physical security, as it sometimes may contain technical as well as administrative elements. However, it is crucial to secure a computer from outside as well as from inside, as hacking might not the only source of data theft nowadays.

With the growing digital age, implementing physical security has become more difficult as compared to earlier days (Choo et al., 2017). Since computer components have become portable and can be accessed remotely by its users, chances of them getting stolen have risen.  Furthermore, smaller parts can be lost or misplaced easily, thereby causing the company to lose essential data stored in them. This may cause the company to face civil lawsuits and penalties due to failure in adopting adequate security measures.

Securing data physically

For a company to adopt physical data security, there should be a plan present for physical security. A company might set up a physical security team, which will lay out a plan for security measures to be followed. The security program should be updated and developed accordingly so that the security measures are competitive with time and remain capable enough to thwart off threats.

The main objective of the security measures should be to establish an in-depth security measure. An in-depth security measure means that the security measure should have multiple layers of security, which means compromising one layer does not mean that the attacker would gain access to the data. Logging into the computer systems should require proper authentication in the form of swipe cards and passwords, and additional system security measures like access control systems and locked doors should be installed along with them. These would make breaking in further difficult and increase the security of the data (Wang, Hao, & Hanzo, 2016).

To further ensure that the security measures are working correctly and are in the right order, Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) should be used as an indicator. KPIs should be monitored in specific periods (days, weeks, months, and years). Once the KPIs are correctly tracked, it would ensure that the objectives of the security control measures are met (Picioroagă, Eremia, & Sănduleac, 2018). The company would be able to secure its data effectively, and it will ensure that the data is accessed and processed by authorized personnel only.

Conclusion:

Like internal security, physical security is very much crucial for a computer system. Neglecting this might result in a company losing essential data. It should be noted that al the internal security measures (like cryptography, encoding, and others) would not be of much use once physical security is compromised.