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

• Main Author: Bista, Sulabh
• Format: Others
• Language: English
• Published: Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University 2015
• Subjects: physical security; IDF; case study; software tool; Information Security; Systems Architecture
• Online Access: https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/2605; https://dc.etsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3992&context=etd

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.