Access Control and Physical Protection - Essay Example

The paper "Access Control and Physical Protection" is a good example of an essay on information technology. Security through obscurity is a principle in which a user protects data or other things by concealing them in the computer device. This permits the person who kept the data to have sole access to them and retrieve for future usage without the knowledge of the other users (Pfleeger & Pfleeger, 2012). An example of this concept of security through obscurity is creating a new encryption algorithm and not informing others about it. The encryption algorithm distorts information in such a way another user cannot be able to understand its true meaning (Gollmann, 2010).

However, security without obscurity also happens in real-life situations not involving computers. For instance, a person may lock his or her door and hide the keys in a bush near the house. This occurs in situations where housemates share one key to access the house but get home at different times.
Security through obscurity is not an effective countermeasure in either example above because a third party can easily notice the tricks. It is apparent that security through obscurity must have backups if it is the only measure adopted by the users (Pfleeger & Pfleeger, 2012). Failure to have a backup plan may cause problems if one cannot remember where the thing or the data was secretly kept.
The physical security aspect of protecting computer assets relates in this case because it involves the protection against theft of equipment and data contained in the computer (Gollmann, 2010). For instance, it entails protecting access to confidential information, programs or hardware by third parties that may cause harm to an organization or individual. An example of the physical security aspect is the use of passwords or keys and lock to avoid unauthorized persons from accessing employee payroll or personal information (Pfleeger & Pfleeger, 2012).  Read More