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Initiation responsibility: Head of Site Technical Services; Fire Protection Officer; IT Security Management
Implementation responsibility: Site Technical Services
An alarm system consists of a number of local alarm devices which communicate with a control centre, through which the alarm is triggered. If an alarm system covering break-ins, fire, water and gas is installed and can be expanded at reasonable cost, it should be considered whether, as a minimum, the IT core areas (server rooms, data media archives, technical infrastructure rooms, etc.) could be included in the surveillance provided by this system. This will enable threats such as fire, burglary or theft to be detected in good time so that countermeasure can be taken. To ensure that this is the case, it is imperative that the alarms are sent on to an office which is permanently manned (porter's lodge, security service, fire department etc.) It is important that this office has the expertise, equipment and personnel required to respond to the alarm. The guidelines of the organisation concerned for connection to the respective networks should be considered here.
An alarm system is a complex entity which has to be planned and installed taking into account the building and the risk. Planning, installation and maintenance of an alarm system should therefore be carried out by experts. If these are not available within the organisation, external support should be obtained. Thus, for example, depending on the particular security requirements and the environment a number of different individual alarming devices may need to be selected. For example, intruders can be detected using movement detectors, sensors which detect the breaking of glass, normally closed contacts, video cameras and other devices.
The alarms can be networked in different ways. Depending on the nature and size of the areas requiring protection and the guidelines in force, suitable systems must be chosen and installed. When planning or expanding an alarm system care must be taken to ensure that cable routes are sufficiently big to permit networking, and as few changes should be made to the routing as possible.
To maintain the protective effect of the alarm system, it should be serviced and tested on a regular basis (DIN VDE 0833 Part 1-3).
If there is no alarm system or the existing system cannot be used, local detection devices should be considered as a minimum. These work on a completely independent basis without being connected to any central facility. The alarm is given on site or else it is passed to a different location by means of a simple two-wire line (possibly a telephone line).
Installation of an alarm system is mandatory for a computer centre. Depending on the layout of the site and its infrastructure, additional detection areas could be sensible.
Rooms like the server room and the data media archives have higher protection requirements. If there is no central alarm system, local alarm devices must be installed in these rooms. Where local alarm devices are used for early detection, steps must be taken to ensure that an alarm can also be heard outside the rooms concerned. Signalling can be effected by various routes and should be passed to an office which is manned all around the clock. For example there are solutions which can set off alarms over the PBX or radio or over employees' mobile phones.
Prior to planning an alarm system a consistent protection concept must be developed for the building under consideration. Detailed information on this subject will be found in the BSI publication, "IT security through infrastructural measures" (see Annex). When planning alarm systems for private or business objects, one should check with the property insurer whether there is any scope for reduced insurance premiums, especially as regards burglary and theft insurance.
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by Bundesamt für Sicherheit in der Informationstechnik |
last update: July 2001 |