Security Upgrades.

A security breach recently occurred in the offices of the Sydney ABC and as we live in an age of both stalkers and terrorism that is something to be taken very seriously.  It seems that the fire alarm sounded and in accordance with procedures the building was evacuated.  When the staff returned, they found a male stranger seated in the newsroom.

Initially, they thought this was probably a new intern but when one of the senior journalists engaged him in conversation he found that this young man was looking for a job and he admitted that he had used the fire escape alarm ruse stunt in Melbourne recently.  A similar security breach had occurred in the ABC Adelaide.

It is delightfully simple.  In a fire safety  equipped building the sounding of the alarm automatically disengages the locks to allow the staff unchecked access to escape routes out of the building and this includes all the outer street doors.  In the interests of fire safety, the usual security arrangements are terminated.

In a big building there is usually a delay before the first evacuees arrive at an external entrance and this presents an opportunity for an intruder to slip into the building unnoticed.  The staff remain outside until the fire brigade arrives and the firemen give the all clear for their return.  This presents an opportunity for an intruder to collate information, position a bomb or wait to deliver an attack on a selected staff member.

In this case the young man was safely escorted out by a senior journalist and no harm occurred but it does highlight a security defect that this young man used to his advantage, and that could be copied by those with more sinister intent.

The whole impetus of fire safety is to enable fast exit of everyone away from danger.  There is usually a required timetable checked by fire drills to ensure the building can be completely evacuated within a given time frame.  That need prevails irrespective of the nature of the building or what process is carried out within.

We have many security sensitive buildings in Australia and the nuclear reactor at Lucas Heights would probably head the list.  All such buildings have a degree of public access to an entry point where security starts and it is common to have fire alerts conspicuously placed where they are available to the public.  Even a phoned bomb threat usually results in a building evacuation by way of the fire alarm.

This young mans ingenuity did not result in a job offer, but it did illustrate a weakness in the security that we have long taken for granted.   Now the security people have to find a way to plug that gap.