Case Study - U.S. Department of Homeland Security

An example of this is the United States (U.S.) Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which operates in buildings and other facilities owned by the government in leased spaces and contractor-provided facilities.

DHS also provides directives to other U.S. government agencies and organizations that support those agencies about meeting their roles in critical infrastructure protection.

The DHS's approach to physical access control systems (PACS) demonstrates the application of several security concepts, AC models, and AC techniques.

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PACS, as used by the U.S. DHS, are divided into four areas that operate independently at the direction of the PACS administrator. They are described below.

Identification:

PACS requires an individual's personally identifiable information (PI) so it can authorize physical access to the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) facilities. PACS sensors read the information on an individual's personal identity verification (PIV) card to verify if the individual has authorized access.

Visitor management:

Visitors and construction and service contractors who have not been issued a PIV card must be identified before being granted access.

The Office of the Chief Administrative Officer (OCAO) uses PACS to issue and track parking permits. OCAO personnel access PACS to determine whether an | individual is eligible to receive a parking permit. Upon issuance of the parking permit, OCAO personnel enter in PACS the name and email address of the permit holder, permit number and type, issue date, and expiration date.

Alarm monitoring and intrusion detection:

The PACS alarm monitoring application allows OCAO personnel to monitor the intrusion detection system (IDS). A record is created in PACS of all IDS alarm activations or other issues, such as communication and power failures. The IDS in PACS consists of sensors, lights, and other mechanisms through which the Office of the Chief Security Officer (OCSO) can detect the unauthorized intrusion of persons or devices. The only PIl collected by the PACS IDS suite are the first and last name of the individual authorized to turn the alarm system on and off and the corresponding PIN number the individual inputs into the alarm keypad to activate or deactivate the alarm.