7.5 Protecting against physical and environmental threats

Organizations should perform risk assessments for the possible effects of environmental and physical problems, implement necessary safeguards, and monitor how events and threats regularly. They should obtain specialist advice on managing risks from such threats. Organizations should also consider the local topography and urban threats when choosing the location and construction of physical premises. Based on their assessment results, organizations should identify applicable environmental and physical problems and consider appropriate controls for fire, flooding, electrical surges, explosives, and weapons. They should also install and configure systems to detect early-stage fires and flooding and adopt systems to protect against power surges. Finally, they should perform spontaneous inspections for any weapons on people, vehicles, or items entering crucial information processing areas.