Penetration Testing mailing list archives
Re: [PEN-TEST] Datacenter Wiring
From: "Stiles, Robert" <bob.stiles () TGSLC ORG>
Date: Mon, 23 Oct 2000 08:33:28 -0500
Just a footnote to the pressurized conduit - an old school telephony guy I spoke to said ALL the wiring used to be in pressurized conduits, essentially to protect the paper insulation. In case of a leak, an alarm would go off, the pressurized gas would keep water from leaking in, and he would have to hunt around with stethoscope on a stick device to locate the leaking pipe. -----Original Message----- From: McGann, J [mailto:shadowjcm () MINDSPRING COM] Sent: Saturday, October 21, 2000 1:52 PM To: PEN-TEST () SECURITYFOCUS COM Subject: Re: [PEN-TEST] Datacenter Wiring At 10:14 AM 10/21/2000 -0400, Drew Simonis wrote:
Tom Litney wrote:This is a topic that I fear many of us do not take seriously becauseit isnot a "geek" topic - physical security......stonewall(...)My initial question was attempting to solicit an opinion from you, the experts. Disregarding for a minute the hardware on either side of the
wire
and whether all traffic should be encrypted questions but focusing in on just the physical wire security. You have been approached by one of
your
clients who is building a datacenter. They are asking your opinion on
how
they should wire it to provide the best security againstpenetration. Whichmethod would you recommend? Are you a wire walker or a wire hider? And why?I suppose I am a wire hider. I think a nice steel conduit is a heck of a lot better than any other solution Ive heard. And get this twist I've heard about: presurizing the conduit. Charge that pipe up with an inert gas, and if the conduit is broken, for any reason, an alarm is generated. I can't think of a more secure way to protect my cables, can you?
There are some other solutions out there: for example the NSA/DOD approved Cylink Corporation product that puts a fiberoptic wire across the cable pipe. When the pipe is knocked too hard or cut into, the vibration is detected by the FO wire and an alarm sounds. Similar to Drew's pressurization suggestion above. The alarms can be set to ignore vibrations up to a certain level so as not to create too many false alarms. This is a great solution for situations where you are running wire under ground between buildings on a business campus. Peace, Jamie HR Fiderus Strategic Security & Privacy - Security for the Masses || HQ: 919-852-1900 || Cary: 919-654-6837 || TollFree: 866-FIDERUS || || Mobile: 757-535-6605 || Pager: 866-787-1001 - 8667871001 () skytel com || || Fiderus Computer Emergency Hotline # 1-877-595-8491|| || <jmcgann () fiderus com> || <shadowjcm () mindspring com> || "Energy & persistence conquer all things" -Benjamin Franklin
Current thread:
- Re: [PEN-TEST] Datacenter Wiring Tim (Oct 19)
- Re: [PEN-TEST] Datacenter Wiring Charlie Rhodes (Oct 19)
- <Possible follow-ups>
- Re: [PEN-TEST] Datacenter Wiring Thomas Hayward (Oct 20)
- Re: [PEN-TEST] Datacenter Wiring Frank Knobbe (Oct 20)
- Re: [PEN-TEST] Datacenter Wiring Frank Knobbe (Oct 20)
- Re: [PEN-TEST] Datacenter Wiring Meritt, Jim (Oct 20)
- Re: [PEN-TEST] Datacenter Wiring Stiles, Robert (Oct 24)
- Re: [PEN-TEST] Datacenter Wiring Carskadden, Rush (Oct 24)
- Re: [PEN-TEST] Datacenter Wiring John Brand (Oct 25)
- Re: [PEN-TEST] Datacenter Wiring Rebecca Kastl (Oct 25)