Security Awareness - Physical Security

In your exploration of IT Security, it's important to remember physical security. Below are individual actions which will not only help protect the expensive equipment in our buildings, but more importantly improve the physical safety for all university employees. While these changes may cause you some inconvenience, they are important for the safety of faculty, staff and students who may be working alone, on-site, after regular business hours:

• Refrain from leaving though secondary exits (i.e., loading docks, side doors, etc.) unless you have a legitimate business need to do so. When you do use secondary exits, make sure the exit is properly locked when you leave the area.
• When you enter or leave the building after hours, check to make sure that the door has locked behind you.
• When you enter or the leave building after regular hours, or secure areas (such as machine rooms or other locked areas) at any time of the day, do not let individuals unknown to you into the area.
• Close and lock your office or office-suite door after hours.
• Remember to close and lock office windows.
• If you do not recognize an individual in a secured area you should not hesitate to ask for identification.
• Contact CUPD if you feel threatened for any reason.

Remember to protect your computer equipment as well. If you have a laptop, it should be registered with the CUPD. It doesn't take much time, and facilitates the ability to track a stolen computer. Additionally, CUPD will provide a sticker identifying that the laptop has been registered. If you use a laptop in a high traffic area, consider using a cable lock or the lock that comes with many laptop docking stations. You can also secure the computer by configuring it to use a password to login, using a screen saver to lock the screen, and configuring the BIOS appropriately.