Seven Physical Security Myths Exposed: Proven Steps to Strengthen Your Defenses

Physical security is the foundation of operational resilience, yet it’s often treated as an afterthought or a one-time capital expense. The reality is more complex. Today’s facilities are hybrid ecosystems—people, processes, and connected devices—where a single weak door, cloned badge, misconfigured camera, or untested evacuation plan can cascade into financial loss, safety incidents, regulatory exposure, and even cyber compromise. Adversaries don’t respect org charts; they blend social engineering with physical intrusion and network pivots, targeting the path of least resistance.

Meanwhile, business pressures drive complexity: distributed offices and warehouses, mixed remote/on-site teams, contractors and vendors with varying access needs, and a growing footprint of networked security devices. As systems age, controls drift, and “temporary” exceptions become the norm, the gap between policy and reality widens. This is why organizations of every size—from SMBs to global enterprises—are seeing the same patterns of preventable incidents: tailgating that bypasses badges, cameras that record but don’t alert, server rooms with great firewalls but weak doors, and plans that look good in a binder but fail during drills.

The good news: these risks are manageable with a layered approach that pairs modern technology with disciplined governance and training. In the pages below, we expose seven persistent myths that keep organizations vulnerable, then replace each one with specific, measurable steps you can implement now—whether you’re securing a single office, a multi-site footprint, or critical production environments. Use these insights to close gaps quickly, build momentum, and create a program that continuously improves rather than drifts.

Myth #1: “We have cameras, so we’re covered.”

Most video surveillance serves as a deterrent and an investigative aid—not a preventive measure. Cameras without monitoring, analytics, or response are often just recording incidents you’ll discover after the fact.

Challenges

• Blind spots, poor lighting, or disabled cameras
• No one is watching feeds in real time
• No integration with alarms or access control

Solution(s)

• Pair cameras with monitored alerts (motion, line crossing, object detection)
• Conduct periodic coverage tests and low-light audits
• Integrate with access control for tailgating and door-forced-open events
• Establish incident response playbooks tied to alerts

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Myth #2: “Badges stop unauthorized access.”

Badges validate identity only if they’re used correctly—and people often don’t. Tailgating, stolen or cloned cards, and shared badges are common security threats.

Challenges

• Tailgating/piggybackingbypasses card checks entirely
• Legacy proximity cards (125 kHz) can be cloned cheaply
• Deprovisioning lags when employees/contractors leave

Solution(s)

• Implement anti-tailgating controls (mantraps, turnstiles, door alarms)
• Upgrade To encrypted, mutual-auth smart cards or mobile credentials (BLE/NFC) with strong certificate management
• Enforce“no piggybacking” awareness and regular recertification of access rights
• Use video verification for high-risk zones

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Myth #3: “Cybersecurity is separate from physical security.”

Modern attacks blend both. Devices such as badge readers, cameras, and building management systems are networked. A physical foothold can become a cyber breach—and vice versa.

Challenges

• Unsecured networked cameras or OT devices become pivot points
• Server rooms with weak physical controls undermine cyber controls
• Visitors or insiders connect rogue devices onsite

Solution(s)

• Apply zero trust principles to physical systems networks (segment, authenticate, least privilege)
• Enforce physical protections for network closets and server rooms
• Monitor for rogue devices and unusual traffic from security systems
• Integrate PSIM/VMS logs with SIEM forcross-domain detection

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Myth #4: “We’re small; nobody will target us.”

Opportunistic threats and spillover from broader campaigns affect organizations of all sizes. Moreover, SMEs often have weaker controls, making them attractive targets—especially if they’re in a supply chain.

Challenges

• Theft of portable assets (laptops, IP, prototypes)
• Social engineering to access networks via on-prem devices
• Vandalism, disgruntled insiders, or domestic spillover threats

Solution(s)

• Conduct a basic risk assessment focused on likelihood and impact
• Prioritize layered controls for your crown jewels (e.g., labs, server/storage areas)
• Ensure visitor management, asset tracking, and evidence-grade logging
• Leverage managed/hosted services for monitoring if budgets are tight

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Myth #5: “Background checks eliminate insider risk.”

Background checks are a snapshot, not an ongoing assurance. Most insider incidents involve trusted individuals whose circumstances or motivations change over time.

Challenges

• Over-reliance on pre-employment screens
• Lack of separation of duties or monitoring in sensitive areas
• No process to detect behavioral red flags or access anomalies

Solution(s)

• Implement least privilege and role-based physical access with periodic review
• Use the two-person rule for high-risk actions (e.g., opening safes, accessing evidence rooms)
• Monitor for unusual patterns: after-hours access, repeated door alarms, zone-hopping
• Provide multiple reporting channels and an insider risk program
• Myth #6: “Once we install it, we’re done.”

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Myth #6: “Once we install it, we’re done.”

Physical security is not “set and forget.” Environments, threats, and business processes are constantly changing. Controls drift, equipment fails, and people develop workarounds.

Challenges

• Doors propped open, broken strikes, expired firmware
• Outdated SOPs that don’t match the floorplan or org chart
• Accumulated exceptions that erode control effectiveness

Solution(s)

• Establish a governance cadence: quarterly control reviews and annual risk assessments
• Test controls (red/blue exercises, tabletop scenarios, tailgate tests)
• Maintain lifecycle management: patching, firmware updates, and end-of-life plans
• Measure KPIs: forced

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Myth #7: “Emergency plans exist in a binder; people will know what to do.”

Plans that live on paper often fail in practice. In emergencies, people default to training and muscle memory.

Challenges

• Unclear roles during evacuations, shelter-in-place, or lockdown
• Stale contact trees; untested mass notification systems
• Accessibility gaps for visitors and people with disabilities

Solution(s)

• Run regular drills (evacuation, medical, severe weather, active threat) and after-action reviews
• Keep digital, accessible procedures and quick-reference job aids at key posts
• Validate mass notification, PA systems, and muster processes
• Coordinate with local first responders and landlords

From Point Solutions to a Resilient, Measurable Security Program

Physical security fails most often in the seams—between policies and practice, devices and data, facilities and IT, “install” and “operate.” Closing those seams requires shifting from point solutions to an integrated, continuously managed program that delivers clear operational outcomes: fewer successful intrusions, faster detection and triage, tighter investigations, and reliable compliance evidence.

Here’s what that shift looks like in practice:

Integrate prevention, detection, and response

• Prevention reduces opportunities (hardened doors, anti-tailgating, credential hygiene).
• Detection turns raw signals into prioritized alerts (analytics, thresholds, correlations).
• Response operationalizes action (playbooks, notifications, on-call, escalation paths).
• Tie these layers together so that one failure doesn’t cascade into a breach.

Make visibility actionable

• Move beyond “record everything” to “surface the right thing, right now.”
• Use AI-driven video analytics for context: object classification, dwell time, boundary crossing, tamper detection.
• Correlate events across systems: access control anomalies + camera alerts + after-hours patterns.
• Feed security events into your SOC/SIEM so physical and cyber analysts see the same picture.

Engineer for reliability and evidence

• Treat cameras, recorders, and VMS as critical infrastructure: redundancy, health monitoring, firmware lifecycle, secure configs.
• Validate retention policies align with investigations, regulatory requirements, and privacy.
• Standardize time-sync (NTP), watermarking, and chain-of-custody procedures for admissible evidence.

Institutionalize governance and improvement

• Establish a quarterly cadence for risk reviews, access recertification, and control testing.
• Run realistic drills and after-action reviews to convert plans into muscle memory.
• Track a small set of KPIs/OKRs: tailgating incidents, mean time to verify (MTTV), alert precision/recall, device uptime, audit findings closed.

Design for scale and change

• Assume site growth, vendor turnover, and evolving threats—standardize templates and deployment patterns.
• Use open, well-supported protocols and APIs to avoid lock-in and enable future integrations.

Bring the Myths Down with an Integrated, Modern Stack

Physical security resilience stems from the implementation of layered controls, continuous governance, and the tight integration of physical and cyber measures. To operationalize the “what to do” steps above, pair strong processes with a capable, integrated technology stack:

• High quality imaging with analytics-ready cameras: Consider enterprise-grade cameras, such as those from Ganz, for reliable coverage, low-light performance, and consistent forensic video quality that supports both deterrence and post-incident investigation.

• Use on premises AI video intelligence to detect and act faster. Add the Ganz AI Box to enable edge AI analytics (e.g., object detection, line-crossing, intrusion, loitering) that convert raw video into actionable alerts. This reduces reliance on passive recording and helps close the gap highlighted in Myth 1 (“cameras alone aren’t enough”).

• Centralized, scalable VMS for real-time response and audit. Ganz Cortrol VMS unifies cameras, analytics, access control and other integrated systems into a single, unified view. Integrate with monitoring/alerting workflows so that alarms (door forced open, tailgating, motion anomalies) trigger playbooks and expedite response.

• Hardened, reliable recording and retention: Deploy Ganz recording devices (NVRs/DVRs) with adequate storage, RAID options, and secure configuration for evidence-grade retention. Align retention with your regulatory and investigative needs, test backup/restore, and monitor health proactively.

By combining layered governance and training with an integrated solution—cameras that see clearly, AI that understands context, a VMS that orchestrates action, and recorders that preserve evidence—you replace myths with measurable controls. This approach delivers:

• Faster detection and verification of real threats (reducing false positives)
• Better operator workflows and incident response
• Stronger audit trails for investigations and compliance
• A scalable foundation to add sensors, access control, and cyber integrations over time

The payoff isn’t just “better security tech.” It’s measurable resilience:

• Fewer successful intrusions through layered deterrence and access integrity.
• Faster detection and verification with analytics-driven alerts and unified operations.
• Stronger investigations and compliance via reliable recording, time-sync, and chain-of-custody.
• Lower total cost of ownership by reducing false alarms, manual reviews, and rework.
• Future-ready architecture that can absorb new sensors, identity systems, and cyber integrations without starting over.

Bottom line: move beyond myths by engineering a program that is observable, automatable, and improvable. With disciplined governance and an integrated stack—Ganz Cameras for clarity, Ganz AI Box for context, Ganz Cortrol for orchestration, and Ganz recorders for assurance—you convert security from a static expense into a continuously compounding capability.

Sources:

1. NIST SP 800-82r3 (Operational technology security; emphasizes monitoring and incident response): https://csrc.nist.gov/pubs/sp/800/82/r3/final
2. CISA Physical Security Guidance: https://www.cisa.gov/topics/physical-security
3. Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report (DBIR) – SMB sections: https://www.verizon.com/business/resources/reports/dbir/
4. ASIS International Protection of Assets (POA) Reference (membership required): https://store.asisonline.org/
5. ISO 27001/27002 (continual improvement and control monitoring principles): https://www.iso.org/standard/27001
6. FEMA Ready Business: https://www.ready.gov/business
7. NFPA 101 Life Safety Code (evacuation and egress principles): https://www.nfpa.org/codes-and-standards/all-codes-and-standards/list-of-codes-and-standards/detail?code=101
8. SIA OSDP (secure access control protocol): https://www.securityindustry.org/industry-standards/open-supervised-device-protocol/

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