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Aren't there better ways to ensure "desktop protection" than relying on conscious actions of employees? For the company in question, security seems to be very

Aren't there better ways to ensure "desktop protection" than relying on conscious actions of employees? For the company in question, security seems to be very important as shown by the fact that each computer sits on its own VLAN. Maybe they should consider using something like wireless tokens that lock the workstation if the token is too far away (e.g. http://www.gkchain.com http://www.gkchain.com). I've also worked in companies where lots of doors require a key card, which also unlocks the computer (by means of a card reader at the workstation). So if you leave the room, you take the card with you anyway and the computer gets locked automatically.

sitharus 11y ago
back in 2006ish I used bluetooth proximity of my Mac running 10.4 and a Sony Ericsson cellphone to auto-lock my machine. It'd kick in around 10 metres away, which was about the size of my team's area. Quite handy, but the feature was removed.
- pbhjpbhj 11y ago
  Having bluetooth enabled on your cellphone might ultimately be the method used to crack in to your network though .. so there's a tradeoff of security in such a scenario.
  - thebournepopret 11y ago
    How can Bluetooth be used as a vector?
    - itsameta4 11y ago
      HID spoofing.
ckozlowski 11y ago
Certainly. But I think then one has to factor in issues of cost and complexity. Technological tools can take care of "low-hanging" fruit, but can't be so strict as to prevent flexibility when needed. I like this story in that it's a bit of coworkers policing themselves a bit. We have a similar situation in my workplace, where smartcard authentication is used. We're all taught to pull our cards when we get up from our desks, and this is followed pretty well. The odd email has gone out under someone else's name (usually with accompanying embarrassing text) but more often than not, we'll simply pull that person's card, hold onto it, and then enjoy the few minutes of panic as they try to determine if they lost it or not. Both the customer and the security officer are none too pleased when cards go missing, so it serves as a good reminder. Long story short, watch and remind one another frequently of good security practices, and encourage others to as well. You may think you're being a jerk at first, but as more catch on and not only adhere, but help encourage those rules, it'll be less uncool to call them out and more uncool to deviate from them.

sitharus 11y ago

back in 2006ish I used bluetooth proximity of my Mac running 10.4 and a Sony Ericsson cellphone to auto-lock my machine. It'd kick in around 10 metres away, which was about the size of my team's area. Quite handy, but the feature was removed.

pbhjpbhj 11y ago
Having bluetooth enabled on your cellphone might ultimately be the method used to crack in to your network though .. so there's a tradeoff of security in such a scenario.
- thebournepopret 11y ago
  How can Bluetooth be used as a vector?
  - itsameta4 11y ago
    HID spoofing.

ckozlowski 11y ago

Certainly. But I think then one has to factor in issues of cost and complexity. Technological tools can take care of "low-hanging" fruit, but can't be so strict as to prevent flexibility when needed. I like this story in that it's a bit of coworkers policing themselves a bit. We have a similar situation in my workplace, where smartcard authentication is used. We're all taught to pull our cards when we get up from our desks, and this is followed pretty well. The odd email has gone out under someone else's name (usually with accompanying embarrassing text) but more often than not, we'll simply pull that person's card, hold onto it, and then enjoy the few minutes of panic as they try to determine if they lost it or not. Both the customer and the security officer are none too pleased when cards go missing, so it serves as a good reminder. Long story short, watch and remind one another frequently of good security practices, and encourage others to as well. You may think you're being a jerk at first, but as more catch on and not only adhere, but help encourage those rules, it'll be less uncool to call them out and more uncool to deviate from them.