Assessing the Physical Security of IDFs with PSATool: a Case Study

PSATool is a checklist-based, web-based application for assessing the physical security of Intermediate Distribution Frameworks. IDFs, or wiring closets, are an integral if often neglected component of information security. Earlier work by Timbs (2013) identified 52 IDF-related security requirements...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Bista, Sulabh
Format: Others
Language:English
Published: Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University 2015
Subjects:
IDF
Online Access:https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/2605
https://dc.etsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3992&context=etd
Description
Summary:PSATool is a checklist-based, web-based application for assessing the physical security of Intermediate Distribution Frameworks. IDFs, or wiring closets, are an integral if often neglected component of information security. Earlier work by Timbs (2013) identified 52 IDF-related security requirements based on federal and international standards for physical security. PSATool refines Timbs’ prototype application for IDF assessment, extending it with support for mobile-device-based data entry. PSATool was used to assess 25 IDFs at a regional university, a college and a manufacturing corporation, with an average of 9 minutes per assessment. Network managers and assessors involved in the assessments characterized PSATool as suitable for creating assessments, usable by IT department personnel, and accurate, in terms of its characterizations of IDF status.