Physical Security of Computer Equipment
The Information Security Office has seven top tips to help you to keep your computing equipment as physically secure as possible:
- Keep office doors locked if there is no one around.
- Keep your computer’s CPU (Central Processing Unit) in a locked compartment if your computer is in a public area.
- Keep your servers in a secure area at all times and restrict entry to this area.
- Report any unexpected changes in your computing devices, such as a new keyboard (when you haven’t ordered one) or any obvious tampering with the CPU.
- Keep data storage media such as external hard drives, USB drives, CDs and DVDs out of sight. Ideally, this storage media will be securely locked away in a drawer or cabinet.
- Keep your backups out of sight and locked away, or use an online backup service.
- Don’t connect unknown devices to your computer as they may contain malware.
Please report any physical security issues any University of Otago campus to Property Services.
Students living in residences or student flats should make sure their backups are encrypted and locked away.
Please contact the Information Security Office for further advice on keeping your computing equipment physically safe.
Do you have a question? Please see our FAQs about physical security of computer equipment.