People and Goods: Visitors, Vendors, and Deliveries
The perimeter is built to stop the outsider, but most physical compromises walk in through the front door with a valid reason. Visitors, contractors, delivery drivers, and vendors are the routine exceptions to every access rule, and routine is exactly where discipline erodes. The control is process, not hardware: pre-registration, verified identity, a sponsor who is accountable, an escort who never leaves, and a delivery dock that treats every inbound crate as untrusted until inspected. Manage the exceptions with the same rigor you manage the walls, because the adversary who cannot climb the fence will simply book an appointment.
Knowledge check
Why is the loading dock treated as a distinct high-risk boundary rather than an ordinary door?
Show the answer
It is a routine, high-traffic opening in the hardened shell where outsiders, vehicles, and unvetted hardware cross the perimeter daily. It admits crates that could conceal tampered equipment, tracking devices, or a stowaway, so it needs its own buffer, inspection, chain of custody, and separation from the secure zones.