The Telecommunications Industry Association(TIA) has announced that its TR-42.1 Engineering Committee on Commercial Building Telecommunications Cabling is developing an American National Standards Institute (ANSI)-accredited standard, known as TIA-5017, to address the physical network security of information and communications technology (ICT) networks. 

“Physical security is a vital part of any security plan and is fundamental to all security efforts,” said TIA president Grant Seiffert.  “Our new standard project – TIA-5017 – will serve as a guide for network operators to improve the overall security of their networks, which will, in turn, make U.S. businesses more secure and help our country fend off cyber-attacks.”

Masood Shariff, chair of the TR 42.1 Network Security Task Group, also commented, “Top experts in cabling, security and administration are teaming up with consultants who design security systems to generate a truly multi-disciplinary standard that is badly needed to prevent theft, sabotage, and terrorism. The TIA-5017 telecommunications physical network security standard will provide specific requirements to protect telecommunications cabling infrastructure. It also utilizes this infrastructure to improve the overall security of these premises.”

The TIA-5017 standard project incorporates an integrated security approach which includes recent advances in automated administration management (AIM) that can pinpoint the location of any unauthorized connection, as well as surveillance systems that are now an integral part of many facilities. The standard will enable the planning and installation of security systems for physical telecommunications networks by covering:

• The security of telecom cables, pathways, spaces, and other elements of the physical infrastructure through consolidation of existing security measures and new guidelines in one contiguous document
• Design guidelines, installation practices, administration, and management of the telecom network locations
• Guidelines for new construction as well as renovation of existing buildings
• Installation guidelines for implementing security cabling systems for premise security systems with an integrated security approach. 

A major function of the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) is the writing and maintenance of voluntary industry standards and specifications. These activities are carried out by the volunteer members of TIA engineering committees. TIA is actively seeking participation in these projects from the users and general interest communities.  For more information about TR-42 and how to participate in standards development with TIA, contact Germaine Palangdao at standards@tiaonline.org.