Week 11 & 12

Information security covers an ocean of topics ranging from cryptography, network infrastructures, topologies, cybercrime even legal issues and ethics. What's more pondering to found out was that is also covers topics outside the grasp of information security. Dealing with these matters is not limited to everything inside the virtual world. Knowingly, network and security analysts extend their knowledge towards physical security which is somehow peculiar in my own opinion. The thought came to my mind why focusing on physical security is important in relevance to network security. During the lecture, my  wondering question was answered. Using your own common sense, the network itself and its data is virtual but it is still stored in a physical storage, meaning: it also susceptible to physical threats. This is where physical security comes in. One concept we have learned was the Crime Prevention through Environmental Design or CPTED for short. It focuses on three aspects: natural access control, natural surveillance and natural territorial reinforcement. Natural access controls should provide guidance through natural means for people in entering or leaving the vicinity. Meanwhile, natural surveillance uses the environment's physical features to maximize the visibility of the area. In simple terms, it creates an open, clear area to deter possible crimes which is usually exploited in tight, hidden and dark places. Lastly is the natural territorial reinforcement which defines a clear boundary between a public space from a private space. Some of the bet examples of this concept are signages, adjoining roads etc.