Cisco® Secure Internet Security Solutions

Physical Security

Physical security should always come first in the mind of the security administrator. If you cannot guarantee physical security, you cannot guarantee any security. This is especially true where the console and auxiliary ports of a router are concerned. Anyone with physical access to a Cisco router and who possessed a PC, the proper cable, and the required knowledge can break into your router. Using the password recovery techniques that are widely published by Cisco will allow someone to gain total control of the router. If you set all of your router passwords to be the same or used a logically based scheme for router passwords, your entire network is now open to the will of the intruder.

Physical security deals with restricting ...