[asterisk-users] Magnetic door locks

[Joe Greco]

> One of the last "secure" facilities I worked in had a motion sensor
> that unlocked the door for people leaving from one door.  The COO was
> pretty shocked when I took off my belt, easily pushed it through the
> gap in the glass doors near the top and triggered the motion sensor,
> immediately opening the door to the admin side of the building.
> 
> The other side did not have motion sensor just an RFID and magnetic
> lock.  Under challenge, I grabbed a chair, stood on it, lifted the
> drop ceiling and cut one of the wires to the magnet, click, it opened
> (would be a fire hazard if door did not unlock when power was
> removed).
> 
> I think they spent big bucks on their false "sense of security" I also
> pointed out that the data room could be accessed via drop ceiling on
> one side and drywall (that's tough stuff!!) on two of the three walls.

You have to remember that many "secure" facilities were not designed by
security professionals, but are instead simply areas where a company
decided that they wanted to be secure long after a building was built.
They call a contractor, ask for a wall, and instant "secure" area.  Then
the security company comes in, company says "we want restricted access,"
and voila, you get a nice doorstrike and an RFID reader.

Security is never absolute.  You had a situation that was likely to keep
typical people out of the "secured" area.  Fix those problems and then
there are others.

A good crowbar is effective against a *lot* of door hardware.  What, you
have a nice steel door?  Did you know that you can often bend the door 
a bit and pop the latch?  Oh, you've got a latch protector?  Great, even
more leverage for the crowbar...  etc...

And walls.  Sure, a drywall wall is pretty flimsy stuff, but a sledgehammer
can make pretty decent work out of a cinderblock wall...

You pretty much have to figure out what level of security you actually
want to obtain.  Putting security system wires in conduit is better than
just drilling around with a bellhanger, but would it necessarily have
prevented you from finding a junction box and getting at the magnet wires?

It helps to have a facility built from the ground up to be secure.  And
even many of those don't do many of the things that they could.

... JG
-- 
Joe Greco - sol.net Network Services - Milwaukee, WI - http://www.sol.net
"We call it the 'one bite at the apple' rule. Give me one chance [and] then I
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