Unauthorised Access: Physical Penetration Testing For IT Security Teams

9.2. Night Vision

Physical penetration testing can be challenging in many ways, however there is absolutely no doubt that the most difficult tests are those that are carried out at night when security personnel are unaware. A couple of years ago my team was invited to simulate an attack by intruders on a medium-sized business in the Netherlands. The assignment had come from Pieter de Vries, the managing director, and he wished to involve as few people as possible. For this reason, he visited us at our offices and explained why he wanted the test.

9.2.1. The Mission

The company (we'll call them Nederlabs BV) was a leader in the drug development industry and world leaders in the field of brain perfusion. This led to them being targeted in equal measure by competitors and animal rights groups. When I say animal rights, I'm not talking about the people who genuinely care about animals and don't eat meat. (I'm squarely in that category myself.) I am talking about groups that firebomb family homes of employees they perceive to support animal testing or those who dig up and steal the remains of relatives. In one instance, the brother of a postman delivering to a facility was beaten with pick-axe handles.

Competitors and animal rights extremists are two completely different threats that would need to be separately modeled. A competitor is likely to infiltrate someone into the facility as an employee. This is not likely to be an option for animal rights extremists whose modus operandi ...