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624 Chapter 11 • Operational and Organizational Security: Incident Response

cold makes these same objects contract.When this expansion and contraction
occurs in motherboards and other circuit boards, chip creep (also known as socket
creep) can occur.As the circuit boards expand and contract, it causes the computer
chips on these boards to move until they begin to lose contact with the sockets in
which they are inserted.When the chips lose contact, they are unable to send and
receive signals, resulting in hardware failure.
To prevent problems with heat and cold, it is important to store servers and
other equipment in a temperature-controlled environment. Keeping machines in a
room that has air conditioning and heat can keep the temperature at a cool level
that does not fluctuate.To assist in monitoring temperature, alarms can be set up in
the room to alert you when the temperature exceeds 80 degrees Fahrenheit. Other
alarms can be used that attach to the servers, automatically shutting them down if
they get too hot.
ESD is another threat to equipment, as static electricity can damage hardware
components so they cease to function. If unfamiliar with ESD, think of the times
when you have walked over a dry carpet and received a shock when you touched
someone.The static electricity builds up, and electrons are discharged between the
two objects until both have an equal charge.When you receive a shock from
touching someone, the discharge is around 3000 volts.To damage a computer chip,
you only need a discharge of 20 or 30 volts. Humidity levels can increase ESD. If
the humidity in a room is below 50 percent, the dry conditions create an atmo-
sphere that allows static electricity to build up.This creates the same situation as
mentioned in the above paragraph.A humidity level that is too high can also cause
ESD, as water particles that conduct electricity can condense and stick to hardware
components. Not only can this create ESD problems, but if the humidity is very
high, the metal components may rust over time.To avoid humidity problems, keep
the levels between 70 percent and 90 percent. Installing humidifiers and dehumidi-
fiers to respectively raise and lower the level of humidity can be used to keep it at
an acceptable point.
Poor air quality is another issue that can cause problems related to ESD and
temperature.As mentioned earlier, fans in a machine circulate air to cool the com-
ponents inside. If the air is of poor quality, dust, smoke, and other particles in the
air will also be swept inside the machine. Because dust and dirt particles have the
ability to hold a charge, static electricity can build up, be released, and build up
again.The components to which the dust and dirt stick are shocked over and over
again, damaging them over time. If the room is particularly unclean, dust and dirt
can also build up on the air intakes. Since very little air can enter the case through
the intake, temperatures rise, causing the components inside the machine to over-

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