The phantasm of security

After every terror incident out sand carving facility goes in an overdrive of security which lasts for a few weeks at the most followed by business as usual. The security measures implemented as a result of paranoia at best serve to create a false sense of security. At worst they assist the terrorist in achieving their goal.

Checking of identity cards & Decal's on the vehicle

While on the surface this is a very good move as it only allows authorized personel to enter the premises but, This measure has reduced the process of authorization to possession of a peice of plastic. Unless the identification card is checked against a pre-validated database this measure is useless. So the guard at the gate should have a PDA with a barcode/rfid reader to validate the badge and verify wether the person presenting the badge is the same as the person to whom the badge was issues.
Failing this simple step of security exposes us to the following risks

1. An unauthorized person gaining enterence to your premises by
1. Taking a snapshot of a valid badge from a distance and replicating the design and colors offline
2. Arranging for a small accident for a regular employee snatching his badge replacing teh photo and voila. full access to your premises.
3. 
   


2. Similarly on the decal side unless we validate the vehicle being teh same for which the decal was issues and the driver is an pre-authorized person. we just create another hole in our security fabric.
   

If we go ahead and ensure that our security check at the gate is proper and until and unless a person is properly validated he is not allowed to enter the premises, We have just managed to create another risk as now a gunman can just arrive at the company gates at 9 am when the entire staff is waiting at the gates to be frisked and take his pick of whom he wants to dispose.