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Rogei u. }ohnston, Ph.B., CPP anu }on S. Wainei, Ph.B.
vulneiability Assessment Team
Aigonne National Laboiatoiy
http:www.ne.anl.govcapabilitiesvat


With a 1u,uuu+ yeai histoiy anu many tens of thousanus of piactitioneis, it may seem
ouu to maintainin a peiiouical uevoteu to secuiity no less!that physical secuiity isn't a
ieal fielu. But in many ways, it's not.

We uefine physical secuiity as measuies taken to piotect +-)6'C/$ physical assets
(people, builuings, money, uiugs, museum aitifacts, etc.) fiom haim. But physical secuiity
also involves ueploying coipoieal means (access contiol uevices, guaius, fences, etc.) to
piotect ')+-)6'C/$ assets (intellectual piopeity, PII, sensitive infoimation, uigital uata, etc.).

In a ieal fieluthink physics, anthiopology, oi business foi exampletheie aie usually a
plethoia of funuamental piinciples, expeiimental anu case stuuies, anu mouelstheoiies
that make specific pieuictions that can be testeu. Theie aie a wiue iange of available
metiics, meaningful stanuaius, licenses anu ceitifications, iigoi, ongoing uebates anu
contioveisies, ciitical thinking, anu cieativity. Snake oil, piouuct hype, misleauing claims,
anu chailatanism, while unavoiuably piesent, tenu to get weeueu out faiily ieliably.
Committees, gioupthink, anu lineaiconciete thinkeis uon't uominate the fielu.

It woulu not be faii oi accuiate to say that physical secuiity totally lacks these attiibutes,
but it cleaily has fai less than the much newei fielu of cybei secuiity, foi example (not to
even mention a fielu like meuicine).

Continuing oui compaiison with cybei secuiity, wheie aie the uegiees in physical
secuiity fiom majoi 4-yeai ieseaich univeisities. Tiy calling up youi closest flagship
univeisity anu ask foi the people who woik on cybei secuiity. You may be connecteu with
any numbei of uepaitments uoing cybei secuiity ieseaich: computei science,
mathematics, the IT uepaitment, electiical engineeiing, the business school, etc. Ask
insteau foi the people uealing with physical secuiity anu you aie likely to put in touch with
the folks who aiiest uiunken fiat boys.

Ceitainly some unueigiauuate anu giauuate uegiees touch on physical secuiity: uegiees
in homelanu secuiity, ciiminology, oi foiensics, foi example. But the fiist is often moie
about public auministiation oi management than physical secuiity, the seconu may utilize
physical secuiity but isn't piimaiily uevoteu to stuuying it, anu the thiiu is faiily fai afielu.

Anu wheie is the ieseaich anu uevelopment (R&B). Theie aie many national anu
inteinational confeiences wheie .4C$% &$.3%'+4 ieseaicheis go to uiscuss theii theoiies,
mathematical mouels, contiolleu expeiiments, uouble blinu tests, anu iigoious case

2
stuuies. Nost confeiences uevoteu to physical secuiity, on the othei hanu, piimaiily entail
seasoneu secuiity piactitioneis shaiing the "wai stoiies" anu vague geneializations about
what they have leaineu ovei the yeais.

Table 1 hints at the lack of physical secuiity R&B. It shows the numbei of peei-ievieweu
jouinals uevoteu to vaiious fielus. Physical secuiity falls fai shoit of othei "fielus",
incluuing the totally bogus "fielu" of astiology! (Not that theie aie a numbei of excellent
tiaue jouinals, incluuing this one, that incluue coveiage of physical secuiity, but these aie
not peei ievieweu anu usually not uevoteu to just physical secuiity.)


Table 1 - The appioximate numbei of peei-ievieweu jouinals ueuicateu to vaiious "fielus". Caveats: Theie
may be moie peei-ievieweu jouinals than we weie able to finu (especially in languages othei than English),
but the table shows at least the minimum numbei. Note that some peei-ievieweu jouinals count in multiple
fielus, e.g., the D(3%)-/ (* E(&0'+-/'+4; F$'&3%$; 20(%+ G H(3%'&I J13.-+'(). A laigei numbei of peei-ievieweu
jouinals than shown heie may occasionally -..$0+ papeis in a given fielu, but aien't piimaiily 1$1'.-+$1 to
that fielu. Tiaue jouinals (typically not peei ievieweu) aie not incluueu in the table.













____________
1
Excluues jouinals uevoteu to meuical foiensics.
2
Not a legitimate fielu!
S
Excluues jouinals uevoteu to nucleai safeguaius. The one peei
ievieweu jouinal uevoteu to physical secuiity was staiteu by the
authois (http:jps.anl.gov).


Some people might maintain that physical secuiity is a tiaue, not something that can be
stuuieu in a iigoious oi scholaily mannei. We uisagiee. Neuicine anu BotelNotel
Nanagement aie also tiaues, but both fielus have laige amounts of veiy active anu quite
iigoious ieseaich effoits. In compaiison with cybei secuiity (which is a ieal fielu anu has
loaus of iigoious R&B), physical secuiity is moie multiuisciplinaiy, multiuimensional, anu
complex. Physical secuiity is also moie impoitant. When physical secuiity fails, people
may uie. When cybei secuiity fails, we lose some ones anu zeios.

So, what is to be uone. We believe we neeu moie emphasis on iigoi, R&B, anu physical
secuiity euucation. We neeu moie physical secuiity R&B confeiences, anu moie scholaily
peei-ievieweu jouinals uevoteu to physical secuiity. Impoitantly, we also neeu moie
authoisspeakeis willing to wiitetalk about theii mouels, theoiies, analyzes, contiolleu
"Fielu"
peei-
ievieweu
jouinals
Touiism 29
CybeiIT Secuiity 19
Bospitality Inuustiy 18
Recieation & Leisuie 1S
Ciiminality & Law Enfoicement
1
1u
Astiology
2
7
Tianspoitation Secuiity 4
Ciyptogiaphy 2
Physical Secuiity
S
1

S
expeiiments, speculations, anu case stuuies. We neeu this fiom both technical anu social
science specialists.

0ltimately, we neeu to stait thinking about physical secuiity as something that can be a
highly scholaily ieseaich subject, inteiesting not just foi its piactical applications, but
because it is a funuamentally fascinating fielu foi stuuy. Peihaps with moie iigoi,
scholaiship, anu R&B, we can have moie effective physical secuiity; as vulneiability
assessois, we finu iemaikably pooi piactices anu haiuwaie on a iegulai basis, incluuing
foi veiy ciitical secuiity applications.


456-/ /%, 4-/%6."
The views expiesseu heie aie those of the authois anu shoulu not necessaiily be asciibeu
to Aigonne National Laboiatoiy oi the 0niteu States Bepaitment of Eneigy. Rogei
}ohnston, Ph.B., CPP anu }on Wainei, Ph.B. aie pait of the vulneiability Assessment Team
(vAT) at Aigonne. See http:www.ne.anl.govcapabilitiesvat. The vAT has pioviueu
consulting, tiaining, vulneiability assessments, R&B, anu secuiity solutions foi ovei Su
goveinment agencies anu piivate companies. }ohnston anu Wainei have uemonstiateu
easy-to-exploit vulneiabilities (but also effective counteimeasuies) foi vaiious physical
secuiity uevices anu systems incluuing locks, tags, access contiol anu biometiics uevices,
uPS, RFIBs, nucleai safeguaius, anu electionic voting machines.

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