Information Security: Principles and Practices 2nd Edition by Jim Breithaupt, Mark S. Merkow

Exercise 11

Explain the Codependency of Physical and Logical Security Controls

1. Describe how physical security controls are needed to augment logical security controls in a typical data center.

2. What physical security controls would you recommend for server rooms or network switching equipment closets if a full-blown data center is not practical?

Step 1 of 2

Explain the Codependency of Physical and Logical Security Controls

1. The physical security is related to the protection of the assets of the organization and assures the continuity of the business in the disaster conditions. Safety of property and people, site selection, and security from unauthorized access pertain to the physical security.

The logical security refers to the software that is used to run the hardware. It includes the identification of the user, password protection, rights, and level of authority to access the data. The elements of the logical security are given below:

• Login identification of the user.

• Authentication of the users by the identification of the user.

• Authentication of user by biometric scan.

The physical security controls are needed for the logical security. Both are dependent to each other.

For the full security of the data center and assets of the organization both security controls are used. For example, the biometric finger scanner is a physical security device but for the authentication of the user the software is used. Software comes under the logical security.

So, for a data center, the physical security controls are needed for the logical security controls.