Securing Physical Spaces

You’ll be able to

Identify physical vulnerabilities in a work space
Classify preventive, detective, and corrective controls
Explain how physical access can bypass digital security

Physical access changes the game

A strong password does not help if an attacker can walk to an unlocked workstation, steal a device, photograph a whiteboard, or plug in malicious hardware. Physical controls protect the people, rooms, equipment, and paper records that digital systems depend on.

Worked example

A clinic keeps patient tablets in an unlocked charging cart in a hallway. Staff badges open the hallway door, but visitors are often nearby.

1.Vulnerability: devices are physically accessible to people without a need to use them.
2.Threat: theft, tampering, shoulder surfing, or malicious USB access.
3.Preventive control: locked cart, access-controlled room, cable locks, or device checkout.
4.Detective control: camera coverage, inventory logs, or tamper-evident seals.

Answer: The best mitigation is layered: restrict access first, then log or monitor access so the organization can detect a breach quickly.

Checkpoint

Which is primarily a detective physical security control?

Checkpoint

An office door uses a badge reader, but staff routinely hold it open for the person behind them. Which describes the resulting weakness most precisely?

Answer the 2 checkpoints as you read.