Introduction to NonStop Operations Management

Security Management
Introduction to NonStop Operations Management–125507
9-10
Environmental Controls
from the room, putting locks on the doors, and not posting signs that indicate the
location of the computer facilities.
Environmental Controls
Access to the power supply and the air conditioning can provide ample opportunity for
accidental or malicious damage. Consider controlling access to the power supply and the
air conditioning by locking the control panels.
System Cabinets
Protect the system cabinets from accidental damage and deliberate malicious acts. All
cabinets are shipped with locks that use the same key. You might want to consider
installing your own cabinet locks to better protect the system. Anyone with access to the
computer cabinets and the appropriate key could bring down the system.
Terminals
Unattended, logged-on terminals invite intruders to access the system. You might want
to require that the command interpreter’s automatic logoff option is always on.
Printers
Unless care is taken, intruders can obtain the information they need to break into a
system by examining the output of system printers. For example, user account numbers,
telephone access numbers and codes, and even privileged passwords might be printed on
publicly accessible printers. Printed copies of electronic mail messages can also provide
names that enable intruders to deceive others into presuming the legitimacy of their
requests for information.
Tape Units
Like all computer peripherals, protect tape units physically and procedurally from
accidental and malicious damage. Unprotected, they offer an avenue of intrusion. For
example, with the proper timing, an intruder might remove a backup tape from the tape
drive, take it to another system, read it, then return it without detection. Operators should
be vigilant when performing system backups.
When backing up files from disk to tape, you might want to consider using the
NOMYID option of the BACKUP utility. This option prevents files that originally
belonged to one user ID from being restored onto another user ID.
Tape Library
Monitor the on-site tape storage area closely to ensure that an intruder does not get
access to a previous backup tape. Keep audit trails for all tape library transactions.
On-Site and Off-Site Media Storage
Protect the on-site and off-site media storage areas from intruders. Methods of
protecting storage areas include keeping transaction logs for all tape library transactions,