Apple 10.6 manual Enhancing Security, About Physical Security

Enhancing Security 4

By vigilantly adhering to security policies and practices, you can minimize the threat to system integrity and data privacy.

Mac OS X Server is built on a robust UNIX foundation that contains many security features in its core architecture. State-of-the-art, standards-based technologies protect your server, network, and data. These technologies include a built-in firewall with stateful packet analysis, strong encryption and authentication services, data security architectures, and support for access control lists (ACLs).

Use this chapter to stimulate your thinking. It doesn’t present a rigorous planning outline, nor does it provide the details you need to determine whether to implement a particular security policy and assess its resource requirements. Instead, view this chapter as an opportunity to plan and institute the security policies necessary for your environment.

About Physical Security

The physical security of a server is an often overlooked aspect of computer security. Anyone with physical access to a computer (for example, to open the case, or plug in a keyboard, and so forth) has almost full control over the computer and the data on it. For example, someone with physical access to a computer can:

ÂÂ Restart the computer from another external disc, bypassing any existing login mechanism.

ÂÂ Remove hard disks and use forensic data recovery techniques to retrieve data. ÂÂ Install hardware-based key-loggers on the local administration keyboard.

In your own organization and environment, you must decide which precautions are necessary, effective, and cost-effective to protect the value of your data and network.

For example, in an organization where floor-to-ceiling barriers might be needed to protect a server room, securing the air ducts leading to the room might also need to be considered. Other organizations might only need a locked server rack or an firmware password.

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