In this lesson,
we're going to explore two physical security controls
known as fencing and bollards.
Now in the realm of physical security,
fencing and bollards stand out
as some of the most primitive yet effective tools
that are employed to safeguard assets and people
inside your organization.
These tools are indispensable for security professionals
that are aiming to ensure that their facilities,
infrastructure, and public spaces
remain safe from various types of threats.
Now, fencing serves as our first line of defense.
A fence is simply defined as a structure
that encloses an area using interconnected panels or posts.
These structures can be crafted
from a wide range of materials
from wood to metal to wire mesh to concrete and more.
These fences can be quite ugly
like a massive 10-foot tall electrified fence
or one that has razor wire going right across the top,
or they can be more decorative but still secure
like a tall cement fence that surrounds your building.
Now, in terms of physical security,
fences are going to serve several different purposes.
First, fences are a great way to provide a visual deterrent
by defining a boundary
that should not be violated by unauthorized personnel.
For example, at my house, I have a six-foot tall fence
that provides a defined visual barrier
showing where my property starts and where it ends.
Second, these fences can be used to establish
a physical barrier against unauthorized entry.
I used to work for the US government
at several of their military bases
and each one had a large electrified fence
with razor wire going all across the top of it
to establish a barrier between our secured office spaces
and the areas locate outside of our fenced-in location.
Third, fences can be used to effectively delay intruders
which can help provide our security personnel
a longer window of time to react to an intrusion.
If it takes the intruder another five minutes
to climb over the fence or to dig underneath it,
that is actually going to give us an extra five minutes
to get the police or our onsite security personnel
over to that location in order to capture those intruders.
At their core, fences provide us with the primary method
of protecting our facilities against trespassing,
theft, vandalism, and unauthorized facility access.
However, these fences can also be vulnerable
to attack themselves.
For example, an intruder might attempt
to scale a fence by climbing over it,
which would then be countered
by building an even taller fence
or using deterrents like electrification
or barbed wire on the top of those fences.
On the other hand, some wire and chain link fences
are very susceptible to being cut
but you can build your fence at a more robust materials
or install monitoring systems
to deter and detect against these kind of attacks.
If you're worried about somebody
digging underneath your fence,
you can construct your fence
so a portion of it is actually built underground
or you can bury some mesh wire along the fence line as well
in order to protect the attacker
from digging underneath that fence.
Now, the second type of physical security boundary
we need to cover is known as a bollard.
Now, bollards are robust, short vertical posts
typically made out of steel or concrete
that are going to be designed
to manage or redirect vehicular traffic.
These bollards can either be installed as permanent fixtures
or they could be set up as temporary security measures.
After the terrorism attacks of 9/11,
bollards became extremely popular
as an anti-terrorism device
because they can be placed along sidewalks
or across the front of a building
to keep vehicles from driving onto a busy sidewalk
or through the front of a building.
If you've ever visited a military base,
they use bollards all over the place to keep vehicles
away from areas where a lot of their people are going to gather
such as the on-base grocery stores, the department stores,
and even office buildings on that base.
In terms of their anti-terrorism use,
bollards are really designed to keep vehicles
further away from your buildings
so that if a vehicle base improvised explosive device,
known as an IED, is exploded nearby,
your building and its people inside of it
should remain safely outside of the expected blast radius.
Now, as I said, bollards are usually implemented
to create a physical barrier
that shields pedestrians, structures,
and other assets from potential vehicular collisions
whether those are deliberate or caused by an accident.
These bollards can also serve a secondary purpose
by acting as a clear visual reminder
of where vehicles are not permitted to enter.
Now, if you go to the mall
or your local downtown shopping area this afternoon,
keep an eye out for these bollards.
You may see them placed in front of shopping areas
or storefronts as a way to deter would-be criminals
from using ram raiding techniques.
This is where a criminal will drive their vehicle
directly into the storefronts window.
That way, their accomplices can jump out, rob the store,
jump back in the vehicle, and drive away.
Now, most bollards are designed
to be clearly seen as a deterrent,
but some architects
prefer to incorporate them visually
into a more appealing way,
so that way they're less noticeable.
For example, I have been to several stores
here in the United States that use large cement planters
in front of their buildings to act as bollards,
even though most people
just think they're there to hold those plants.
Or if you ever shop at the Target department store
here in the United States,
you're going to see they have these large red balls
that are actually sitting in front of their building,
and it looks like they're company logo
but they're actually bollards.
They're designed to look pretty
but their primary purpose
is really there to prevent vehicular attacks
against the front of their stores.
Now, while bollards do a great job of keeping us secure,
it's also important to note
that bollards are not invulnerable to attack.
The primary threat that's going to be used
against your bollards
is actually a direct impact from a vehicle.
So to overcome this,
your bollards need to be designed to be able to accept
a large amount of force without failing.
For example, a bollard with an ASTM rating
of F2656-07 M30 P1
means that the bollard can stop
a 15,000-pound vehicle
driving into it at 30 miles an hour
without allowing the vehicle to move forward
more than one meter after hitting that bollard.
Now, some attackers will also try to defeat a bollard
by simply tampering with it or outright removing it
if that bollard uses a temporary or removable design.
Now, while fencing and bollards
both function as physical security barriers,
they are designed to address two different
and distinct types of threats.
Fencing is considered to be more adaptable
and well-suited for safeguarding large perimeters
around the entire building.
Where bollards, on the other hand,
are really going to be designed to counter vehicular threats
in a specified area.
So remember, fences are focused on preventing people
from accessing your facilities
while bollards are focused on preventing vehicles
from getting too close to your facilities.
By understanding the strengths and weaknesses
of each type of defensive countermeasure,
you're going to be able to design a more secure system
that works holistically to cultivate a safer,
more secure working environment
in your organization's facilities.
As the nature of threats continue to evolve,
so do the strategies and tools devised to counteract them
in this ongoing game of cat and mouse
that's designed to prevent
physical security breaches
from happening at your facility.