How to evaluate the efficiency of physical safeguard systems according to DFARS?

Physical security may not appear as vital as it previously was in the age of extensive digitalization and cloud technology. This, however, is just not true. All data must reside on a hardware machine, whether in a large data center shared by thousands of other businesses or in a dedicated server room for a single company. While businesses may not directly influence the physical protection of their internet assets, they must nonetheless implement physical security measures to secure the devices that use those services. Since compliance initiatives are both time intensive and costly, the need for a compliance consultant abreast of CMMC for DoD contractors has become a must.

What is the definition of physical security?

Organizational, technological, and physical precautions all play a role in data security, and they are all equally critical. All information must be stored securely inside the U. S. under DFARS 252.204-7012, except if the vendor has obtained written authorization from the Department of Defense that they may retain or send it overseas.

On the other hand, physical protections are not limited to the location of the data. They also control the physical security of data storage and transmission networks. Server rooms, for instance, must be properly guarded and supervised, whereas mobile phones, which are more prone to lose or theft, require additional measures.

Physical protection, both within and beyond the workspace, is required for adherence with the DFARS 7012 clause, as they are for many other regulatory regimes. These safeguards operate in tandem with government reforms and technological measures to prevent data and networks from getting stolen and other vulnerability types.

Physical protections are divided into three main categories:

Access to the facility

The rules, methods, and mechanisms prohibiting physically unlawful entry to premises like server rooms are known as facility access restrictions. A system security plan contains a defined strategy for safeguarding facilities, such as locked doors and passcodes or cards, and a security monitoring system, such as CCTV. Clear restrictions must also be in place to limit and regulate a person’s accessibility to services, including a unique procedure for guests.

Organizations should also account for contingency operations so that emergency personnel may get entry to the building in the case of a natural catastrophe or repair, maintain, or update the hardware. In this instance, companies should preserve a thorough and up-to-date record of repair programs, including any security implications.

Workstations

Non-portable computer equipment, such as desktops and servers, also necessitates security, even though they are less vulnerable to theft than portable electronics like notebooks and smartphones. Any constraints on their usage must also be explicitly defined in regulations, such as barring the use of office computers for other activities. While admission to the premises where the computers are placed should be governed by facility access, they are unlikely to be as secure as data centers, if only for practical purposes. The gadgets must, however, be physically secured.

According to the CMMC DFARS, laptops used to hold or retrieve CUI, for instance, should preferably include a Biometric lock, which is supported by practically all recent corporate laptops. These are permanently attached to the laptop’s casing, making physical removal extremely difficult.

Portable devices

While remote work is necessary these days, it comes with its own set of security risks. Employees utilize computers, smartphones, and external storage devices for daily work, and banning them altogether is not feasible. However, you must safeguard these gadgets with technological and administrative safeguards to prevent illegal access. Software-based solutions may also be used to monitor the position of devices and instantly revoke access permissions from stolen devices.

However, because of the increased danger of loss or theft, it is recommended that sensitive information not be stored on devices in the first place and that they be used exclusively for entry to cloud-hosted applications. Removable storage devices, such as detachable flashcards or external drives, should also be appropriately encrypted to ensure that any data stored on them is absolutely unreadable, even if they are misplaced.

How to evaluate the efficiency of physical safeguard systems according to DFARS?
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