Security Product Selection Matrix

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Security Article

Matching the Threat to the Facility

There has never been a better time to install a new surveillance system or to enhance an existing system. One of the first steps in designing security enhancements to a facility involves a vulnerability study. This assessment should offer recommendations for improvements, enhancements and procedures that will provide additional protection to the facility.

Assessment

The assessment report should not only offer general recommendations to upgrade facility security, but target specific vulnerable areas. Recommendations may include physical barriers to the entrance and perimeter to landscaping, access controls, buildings and operating areas, monitoring for intrusion and securing information.

The level and type of security should be defined prior to final design of the security enhancements. A security professional can be useful in determining the various types of technologies available for each application, and can present these alternatives to determine the final design.

Criteria

Communication between the owner/operator and the security professional is critical to the development of a successful design. The owner/operator must clarify budgetary constraints, project objectives and limitations. The security professional should provide comprehensive information.

The first step in developing the design is a presentation of various systems that satisfy the security objectives for each facility. The criteria necessary to review each alternative should include the following:

• Reliability and Integrity
• Flexibility and Scalability
• Maintainability
• User Friendliness

The system should provide continuous monitoring of vulnerable areas. It could report any security breaches or abnormal operating conditions. This would eliminate the need for regular patrols and drastically reduce the frequency of visit to remote sites.

Reliability and Integrity

Security designs can be divided into physical barriers and monitoring devices. Physical barriers can include walls, fences, doors, landscaping and other designs and natural barriers. These measures also provide protection without undue hardship to operations.

Monitoring equipment can be outfitted with alarms that indicate intrusion into an area or zone. Electronic monitoring equipment such as motion detectors, infrared sensors, video cameras should be compatible with the environment within which it operates. Restricting access through ingress/egress controls and additional intruder sensing and alarms can offer additional security for critical operating areas.

These monitoring devices should also offer a high degree of data integrity to minimize false alarms, which degrade the system by desensitizing monitoring personnel. This data communication should provide interference-free transmission to ensure continuous monitoring operations. It should also offer maximum protection from outside intrusion— hackers, viruses and other potential threats. A stand-alone system provides maximum protection from hackers and Internet-related viruses. Plus, the use of spread spectrum frequency hopping technology ensures transmission integrity.

Further, continuous monitoring can include solar panels, battery back-up and other means to ensure transmission even during outages or extreme weather conditions. Building back-up power systems can add cost, but ensures 24/7 monitoring capabilities for comprehensive surveillance.

Flexibility and Scalability

Flexibility should be designed into the security system so that the system can be easily modified according to changes in threat, operational changes, and system and/or program changes. Threats can change according to local crime statistics and operations logs. But threats can change due to local or national events as well. The system must allow changes to include modifying access routes or using open areas for existing operations.

As a facility grows, security and operational procedures are integrated; therefore, changes to one must be integrated into the other. The security system design should anticipate facility expansion and offer easy scalability. If the system cannot accept additional components for the expanded operation, then retrofit for these operations can become costly. This could include replacement of the existing system or the addition of a redundant system.

The overall system may include remote locations within a region or community. The security system should be designed to be responsive to the entire system as well as individual facilities. Remote monitoring from regional facilities to the central location not only offers standardization in technology, but also reduces monitoring labor. The system should be flexible to accommodate additional remote facilities without overhauling the entire security system.

Changes to the system are inevitable, for example, new equipment or new technology. The design of the security system should easily accommodate these changes or modifications.

Maintainability

As with any system, maintenance is required. Regular repairs or preventative maintenance includes the physical work of the maintenance activity as well as the inventory of spare parts. The design of the security network should be considered as a part of the entire system. Standardization of technology applications and monitoring services provide the owner/operator economy of scale in this regard.

User Friendliness

This is one of the most important design components. Operators may ignore, bypass or shut down the security system if it is too difficult to operate. Ingress and egress controls create additional steps to gain entry. Minimizing the number of activities and the time required will promote acceptance by operating staff.

User friendliness relates to reliability in this regard. Minimizing false alarms with heightened data integrity ensures the activities of monitoring staff are effective. False alarms due to poor data transmission quality can be costly— in both time and labor.

Security and SCADA Systems

Often, many facilities employ Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems. The major advantage of SCADA systems is that security measures are coordinated with operations.

A SCADA system linked to perimeter monitoring devices can either significantly reduce or eliminate the need for manned patrols. Security systems equipment, including video cameras, motion detectors, contact switches, keypad entry devices and card readers can be readily interfaced either directly to the SCADA network or via a nearby RTU.

Wireless communications from these devices to the RTU offers easy remote monitoring. With some programming effort or the use of a DVR or digital/analog converter, digital cameras can also interface with other networks via an RS232 or Ethernet modem connection. For audits or investigations, video also offers the benefit of an image archive.

RTUs at remote locations routinely control devices using input from sensors. In some cases, security devices that interface with the RTU are in place. This information can be easily transmitted to the central facility via wireless radio frequency (RF) link.

Since a SCADA network is private, it is by design, resistant to hackers, viruses and other outside intruders. Hackers simply cannot access the network off-site. The use of spread spectrum frequency hopping further heightens network and data security.

Conclusion

Designing a security system involves open communication and an objective assessment of vulnerabilities versus cost to secure. Creating a reliable, flexible, scalable, easy to maintain and user-friendly system can be accomplished if objectives are realistic at the onset. Commonality of devices throughout the system offers not only economy of scale, but also the opportunity to monitor and control remote sites at a central facility. This reduces labor costs and time, and streamlines the system.

Wireless Ethernet or RS232 communications can offer trouble-free transmission and maximize data integrity from a variety of security devices. This private data communications network is impervious to outside intruders and offers maximum protection. Plus, these modems can transmit data from other devices at the location, including security monitoring, thereby maximizing the efficiency and effectiveness of each site.

Data-Linc Group
1125 12th Ave. NW, Suite B-1 • Issaquah, WA 98027 USA
Tel (425) 882-2206 • Fax (425) 867-0865 •