Conference 7.286::digital

    
    Well, it came as a shock to me that I've been violating corporate
    security policy for many, many years, but I found this:
    
    $ VTX SECURITY_POLICY
      INDEX TO POLICIES AND STANDARDS (menu #6)
        P (menu #16)
          PROPERTY REMOVAL PASS (5th screen, menu #5)
            screen 4 of 46
     
    "PRPs [property removal passes] or other approved documentation, are
    required for the loan/removal of media, such as diskettes, tapes,
    floppies, etc."
    
    On the other hand, early on in my DEC career, I was told specifically
    by some manager that I didn't need a pass for documentation or media,
    although I've never seend anything in writing to that effect.
    I know I've walked into and out of DEC facilities throughout New England
    with media in plain sight and have never been asked for a pass. All
    this leads me to believe that the free movement of media without a pass
    is a DEC myth that is held as gospel by 99.44% of the company (the
    0.56% being the SHR security people).
    

    Over the years I have observed that security regulation enforcement is
    at the descretion of local management.  That is also true at our
    customer's sites and it is seldom consistent within a given 24 hour
    period (there are exceptions of course).  I have also concluded that is
    a waste of time and emotions to fight about it.
    
    We are in the business of information.  It is one of the company's most
    important assests.  Why shouldn't the company try to control/plug
    possible leaks?  How can security guards possibly know that YOU have
    authorization to remove company assets unless you present them with
    that approval?  I know, I know, it is a hassel.  But you WILL NOT win. 
    Don't waste your time.  Sure you will lose some time getting the
    property passes signed, etc., but after a little practice it becomes
    routine and will not be a big deal.

    The concept that Security can verify that a specific tape does or does
    not contain what you are authorized to be carrying out/into a facility
    is extremely interesting but falacious.  This does not unfortunately
    invalidate the security requirement stated in the P&Ps.
    
    Back in 1984, when a security scare forced most New England facilities
    to require property removal passes for magtapes and disks, I was work-
    ing in a group that moved a lot of tapes constantly.  After having one
    property pass signed more than 12 times as I was taking the tape in and
    out of several locations, my group struck a compromise with security to
    photo reduce and laminate a property removal pass which authorized me
    to move non-IT tapes and Disks between Digital facilities (i.e. I was
    not transferring the tape or disk from one place to another rather, the
    tape or disk remained in my possession and I would generally leave with
    it the same day as it arrived at the facility).  This practice was only
    challenged twice during a period of 14 months that I carried the lami-
    nated property removal pass.  Each time the guard complained that he
    had no where to sign and he could not verify that the tape I was carry-
    ing was the one I was authorized to be carrying.  I asked him how he
    thought he could verify that the label on the outside matched the
    content on the tape?  I also instructed him to call Mill Security who
    had issued the laminated pass to validate its authenticity. One of
    the security people was a complete jerk and I needed support from a
    site person to force them to validate that I had proper authority (The
    security person was taking it upon himself to refuse to accept the
    property removal pass because of its form).  The second person threw
    a tantrum but decided to let me pass and did not even bother to check
    if the pass was indeed valid.
    
    Presented with the option of trying to handle hundreds of property
    removal passes, or only a few property removal passes with hundreds
    of names for each check-in/out sequence, security in 1984 opted for
    a cleaner solution (i.e. laminate a pass small enough to fit in a
    wallet, but still readable to cover the authority to move media).
    We chose and security accepted a description which covered a multitude
    of tapes and disks (i.e. we did not specify what was on the label
    or content of the disks) so as to minimize the number of passes to
    be issued.  Naturally the pass specififed my name and the fact that
    the tape(s) and/or disk(s) would be returned to the original location
    on or before some date (I think we were allowed to use a date six
    months out at the time).  This satisfied the P&Ps and reduced the
    paperwork for everyone involved.  There is a small matter of deter-
    mining at the end of six months if the tape was actually returned,
    but security can't really even do that for serialized product so
    this amounts to a trust me issue.  Especially since what DEC should
    be trying to protect is the data on the tape and not the $5.00 tape.
    
    I do not know if the circumstance in .0 warrants creative solutions,
    but the policy requiring some form of documentation to authorize
    removal of disks and tapes has been in existance for at least 7 years.
    
    Althought as noted by .2 security does not always chose to enforce
    this particular regulation consistently.  I have also noticed that
    a number of people are aware of the requirement but chose to ingore
    it and conceal tapes in briefcases to avoid having to comply with it.
    
    This works unless security decides on a particular occasion to search
    your briefcase.  Then you end up scrambling to get the proper paperwork
    completed just so you can leave the building, or you check the tape in
    as personal property (even with DEC proprietary labels stamped all over
    it) so you can get in the building.
    
    All of this to accomplish an objective which security can not truly
    accomplish without confiscating the tape and having it mounted on a
    system they do not own to verify the contents of the tape (if such a
    system even exists).  The protection of intellectual property is
    extremely important and preventing unauthorized personnel from gaining
    access to this property and walking out of the building with it is
    extremely important.  Preventing people who are authorized access to
    information from conducting legitimate business is foolhardy and pro-
    bably extremely expensive as well.  You need to find a solution which
    minimizes the effort required to conduct legitimate business but pro-
    tects Digital's intellectual property.  In 1984 my group found its
    accomodation with security at Parker Street and the Mill, hopefully
    yours can reach it with your security organization.
    
    

Re .0:

SHR, eh?  Just flash a badge at the guards containing your pet dog's photo
pasted over your own.  They'll get so torqued over the badge that you could walk
out with a disk pack under each arm, and they'd never notice.
				/AHM