The Road to Convergence

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The Road to Convergence

7/1/2008

By Matt Villano

From three security pros: 6 best practices for physical and data security convergence.

The Road to Convergence TIP #1: Assess the Cable Plant

Before you can put data and physical security on the same network, make sure your network is running into every building on campus, and that the network has enough bandwidth to carry the additional load, advises Phil Mullendore, president of the Institute for Campus Safety, a consulting firm in Blue Jay, CA. Many campuses skip this important step, he notes, only to find out (after spending tens of thousands of dollars on convergence) that they needed to upgrade their infrastructure at stage one. "You can't bring together different kinds of security on one network if the network can't support converged security in the first place," he warns. The solution: an up-front network assessment to compare capacity with potential demand.

TIP #2: Choose Wisely

Just because you've decided to converge data and physical security doesn't mean you should blend every aspect of both. Peter Beardmore, product marketing manager at RSA, the security division of worldwide integrator EMC, says it's important for administrators to think twice about which aspects of logical and physical security they wish to merge, and for technologists to remember that some systems and applications may be more effective on their own. In particular, Beardmore suggests technologists seek to create a situation where users are issued a single credential when they log on-- and that credential provides both access to data, and physical access to areas of the campus, as well. "You want a system that ensures there's role-based information that can proliferate out to each individual application," he says. "If you can't provide that, you may want to keep some applications separate."

TIP #3: Be Patient

Converging different flavors of security onto one network doesn't happen overnight; in many situations, particularly at large public schools with tens of thousands of users, the process can take years. "Even in well-planned implementations, you have to allow for unexpected hurdles and obstacles," Beardmore stresses. "These are never onesize- fits-all, set-it-and-forget-it types of things." He adds that every implementation is different, so the step-by-step process that worked for one institution might not work for yours. To overcome these obstacles, Beardmore says it's always a good idea for technologists to employ a graduated implementation plan that establishes project milestones from inception, and builds in time for surprises, whatever they might be.