Server Physical Security
Risk
As with any physical infrastructure, technology assets are susceptible to damage caused by water, humidity, temperature extremes, fire and power fluctuations.
Theft is always a risk to assets of high monetary value.
Impact
Damage to systems due to environmental elements will result in a loss of availability.
Theft of physical systems will result loss of availability and loss of valuable information technology assets. The resulting unauthorized access to the equipment will further result in disclosure of sensitive information.
Controls
Environmental controls such as temperature and humidity control, and fire suppression will prevent damage to valuable information technology assets and loss of availability. Uninterruptible power supplies (UPS) protect systems from power loss and transient events such as spikes, surges.
Whether the physical loss is due to environmental damage or theft, the system administrator’s primary objective is to restore the system and enable access to its resources as soon as possible. An effective backup and restore strategy will enable system administrators to return the system to operational status in a timely manner.
Physical access to systems should be restricted to only those that perform physical maintenance tasks. Appropriate application of physical locking technologies will prevent theft and damage to valuable information technology assets and loss of availability.
Recommendations
Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity...
- Develop a redundancy strategy that is appropriate to the value of the information on the system
- Perform regular backups of data, information and system files
Physical Environment...
- Ensure that room has appropriate environmental controls (fire, temperature, humidity, etc.)
- Ensure that power to the server is appropriately controls
Control physical access...
- Restrict physical access to the server using appropriate door locks; swipe card access is preferred
- Physical access should be granted using the principle of least privilege and authority
Notice
Upgrade your MAC ID password today
McMaster is strengthening its password system and all MAC ID passwords established before February 19, 2013 must be changed.
- Upgrade before
May 29, 2013
Service Desk
| Hours: | Monday - Friday 8:30 am - 4:30 pm |
|---|---|
| Phone: | 905-525-9140 x24357 (2HELP) |
| Email: | uts@mcmaster.ca |
| Location: | Main Campus BSB Rm. 245 |
| Service Catalogue: | |
| http://www.mcmaster.ca/uts | |
Service Bulletins
- There are no Service Bulletins at this time