During an internal compliance check you notice that printed network diagrams, rack‐elevation drawings, license keys and disaster-recovery run-books are being stored on open shelving in the network operations center. Company policy classifies these documents as Confidential and states that they must remain available to authorized administrators even if a fire breaks out in the data-center facility. Which of the following storage approaches BEST meets the organization's requirement for secure storage of this sensitive documentation?
Store the documents in a locked, one-hour UL-fire-rated cabinet located inside the badge-restricted server room and record check-outs in a log.
Leave printed copies of the documents in a binder on each rack so on-call engineers can access them quickly during outages.
Scan the documents to PDF and publish them on the corporate intranet under a shared folder that uses standard READ/WRITE NTFS permissions.
Copy the files to an unencrypted USB drive that is kept in an unlocked drawer at the technicians' workbench.
The most appropriate solution is to place the documents inside a lockable, fire-rated cabinet that sits in an already badge-restricted server room and to maintain an access log.
Confidentiality is enforced because the container is physically locked and the room is already access-controlled, limiting entry to authorized staff only.
Integrity and availability are improved because a UL-rated, fire-resistant cabinet is engineered to keep internal temperatures below the combustion point of paper for at least one hour, helping the records survive a fire long enough for suppression systems or first responders to act.
Asset-management policy also calls for checkout procedures so the location and custodianship of documents can be tracked.
The other options fail for at least one of the required controls:
Posting PDFs on a shared intranet folder does not prevent unauthorized network access and offers no protection from fire if the file server is damaged.
An unencrypted USB drive in an unlocked drawer provides neither physical security nor fire protection.
Leaving binders on racks maximizes convenience but exposes material to unauthorized viewing, loss and environmental damage.