21 - Evaluating Your Own Security
Channel: Schuyler Towne
Date: 2011-09-22

Evaluating Your Own Security:

There are several things to take into account, here I'm just going to repose some of the questions from the video to help you think through your own security.

What are you securing?

Is this a suburban home, a rental property, a corporate facility? These we discussed in the video, but buildings aren't the only thing we lock up. There are myriad padlocks for securing everything from chain link to military armaments. Fire safes to protect valuables from environmental damage and entire Vaults to protect valuables from other people.

What high security locks are available locally?

If you decide to make the leap to a higher level of physical security, it's important to have a locksmith available to service your locks in the event of failure or emergency. Even getting keys cut can be a significant hassle if you don't have a locksmith available who carries the type of lock you are using. In high security locks access to key blanks tends to be significantly restricted and on many systems you cannot duplicate the keys using a simple key cutter, so even if you get your hands on blanks, you likely can't just swing into your local hardware store and have any chance of getting a fresh set of keys.

Most locksmiths will carry at least one, sometimes multiple, lines of high security locks, so have a look at what's available locally and then investigate your options deeper. They'll all have their strengths and weaknesses.

Inspect every link in the chain:

Your security will never come down to simply the lock in your door. I've met plenty of people who obsess over the lock and completely miss the overall security picture of whatever they're locking up. Abloy Protec on a door with glass windows? Hardcore padlock on a thin chain link? Step away from the lock for a bit and think about other methods of entry.

How old are your locks?

Locks are amazing in their longevity. I have 120 year old locks in my collection that work absolutely perfectly, having never been repinned in their working lives. That said? You should seriously consider updating, if not upgrading your locks. I don't have a specific timeline for this, but personally, I would likely update my locks at least every 5 years. New technology comes out, new attacks are devised, and unfortunately most lock manufacturers do a miserable job of disseminating that sort of information.

At the very least, if you find your locks become difficult to operate, consider updating or repinning them before you find yourself locked out. A few years ago I helped a friend who's lock was malfunctioning. I came over, fixed the immediate problem, and asked him if I could return later that week to repin his well-used lock. He brushed me off since he lock seemed functional again. 3 months later I had to come back at 1am to repair his lock as it had failed, locking he and his fiance out.

Are you on a masterkey system?

Whether for the door of your apartment, or the critical server room, moving your door off of the masterkey system will immediately boost your physical security. As we discussed earlier in the course, masterkeying, while sometimes necessary, always reduces the security of the individual locks involved. If you can, move off the masterkey system.