I thought this was amusing...
... and I know few if any of you guys read the same stuff as I do, so you might not have seen it.
True Story (name changed to protect those involved):
At the airport where this pilot "fish" works, security has
gotten a lot more attention since 9/11. "All the security doors that
connect the concourses to office spaces and alleyways for service
personnel needed an immediate upgrade," says "fish". "It seems that the
use of a security badge was no longer adequate protection.
"So over the course of about a month, more than 50 doors were
upgraded to require three-way protection. To open the door, a user
needed to present a security badge (something you possess), a numeric
code (something you know) and a biometric thumb scan (something you
are).
"Present all three, and the door beeps and lets you in."
One by one, the doors are brought online. The technology works, and
everything looks fine -- until fish decides to test the obvious.
After all, the average member of the public isn't likely to forge a
security badge, guess a multidigit number and fake a thumb scan. "But
what happens if you just turn the handle without any of the above?"
asks fish. "Would it set off alarms or call security?
"It turns out that if you turn the handle, the door opens.
"Despite the addition of all that technology and security on every
single door, nobody bothered to check that the doors were set to lock
by default."
Remember, security is only as strong as the weakest link.
True Story (name changed to protect those involved):
At the airport where this pilot "fish" works, security has
gotten a lot more attention since 9/11. "All the security doors that
connect the concourses to office spaces and alleyways for service
personnel needed an immediate upgrade," says "fish". "It seems that the
use of a security badge was no longer adequate protection.
"So over the course of about a month, more than 50 doors were
upgraded to require three-way protection. To open the door, a user
needed to present a security badge (something you possess), a numeric
code (something you know) and a biometric thumb scan (something you
are).
"Present all three, and the door beeps and lets you in."
One by one, the doors are brought online. The technology works, and
everything looks fine -- until fish decides to test the obvious.
After all, the average member of the public isn't likely to forge a
security badge, guess a multidigit number and fake a thumb scan. "But
what happens if you just turn the handle without any of the above?"
asks fish. "Would it set off alarms or call security?
"It turns out that if you turn the handle, the door opens.
"Despite the addition of all that technology and security on every
single door, nobody bothered to check that the doors were set to lock
by default."
Remember, security is only as strong as the weakest link.