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* A communications filter changes the way the receiver sees and hears communications sent from the ship. For example, a filter might make the crew look like Cardassians, standing on the bridge of a Cardassian ship. This is a useful supplement to the other forms of deception. If a patrol ship's long range sensors tell them they are tracking a Cardassian freighter, and their communication with the ship shows a Cardassian crew on board, they're not likely to suspect that the vessel is really a Starfleet Nebula-class starship. | * A communications filter changes the way the receiver sees and hears communications sent from the ship. For example, a filter might make the crew look like Cardassians, standing on the bridge of a Cardassian ship. This is a useful supplement to the other forms of deception. If a patrol ship's long range sensors tell them they are tracking a Cardassian freighter, and their communication with the ship shows a Cardassian crew on board, they're not likely to suspect that the vessel is really a Starfleet Nebula-class starship. | ||
=== '''Computer Systems''' === | |||
* The center of nearly every security system in the 24th century is a computer. Control the computer, and you control the security system. The computer is the "brain" of a starship or installation, making it one of the parts most vulnerable to subversion and attack. Since the computer controls many functions automatically, completely outside the control of its crew, damage or sabotage of a ship's computer can sometimes leave it helpless. | |||
* Starship computers communicate with the outside world in a variety of different ways. They use the ship's external sensors to gather information for navigation, to avoid hazards to the ship and crew, and to provide the crew with useful information about their surroundings. They use internal sensors to monitor the locations of crewmembers, route communications, maintain environmental conditions, and dozens of other functions. Communications (both internal and external) are routed through the ship's computer, and the computer is in regular contact with outside sources of information like time-base beacons, surveillance satellites, probes, and similar objects. Computers on board stations, or planetside, function in much the same way. | |||
===== Passwords and Prefix Codes ===== | |||
* The above rules assume the character does not have authorized access to the computer system. In some cases, however, the character may have access, in which case only a Routine Computer (Data Alteration or Programming) Skill Test is required to carry out the character's commands. This was the case in the Next Generation episode "Peak Performance," where Lt. Worf accessed the Enterprise's computer from the U.S.S. Hathaway and fed it false sensor data. When Data changed the security access codes, he blocked Worf's access. | |||
* Part of an operation to penetrate a location's security may consist of getting the proper access codes for the location's computer, circumventing its security measures. This is not as simple a matter as finding out a password or a sequence of numbers. Computers in the 24th century are quite intelligent, and generally have voice-recognition capabilities as well, so a password or code may need to be delivered by a particular voice as well. Voice synthesizers may be able to get around this problem. If the computer requires an additional verification like a DNA scan further counter-measures are required. | |||
* Starfleet gives each starship its own prefix code, providing outside access to the ship's computer to other Starfleet personnel. In the event of an emergency, or a takeover of the ship, another Starfleet vessel can use the prefix code to override the ship's computer system and take command of its key functions. In effect, a character on the other ship can operate the ship's computer as if it were an extension of his own ship's computer. Clever and knowledgeable hijackers will change a starship's prefix code as soon as possible to prevent other Starfleet vessels from simply overriding their command systems and, say, shutting down their shields or warp drive. | |||
===== Command Codes ===== | |||
* Codes can also be used to limit computer access to certain authorized individuals or locations. This is routinely done on board Starfleet vessels and installations; computer users must give an authorization code (by voice, so their voiceprint can also be scanned) in order to access certain restricted information and functions. For example, only the captain and the first officer of a starship can access the ship's auto-destruct system, and only in tandem. The more limited the system's access, the harder it is to overcome its security protocols. | |||
* Authorized characters can also oftentimes change the available access. For example, the captain of a Starfleet ship has the authority to localize command functions, preventing the ship's computer from accepting commands from any locations other than the one's specified. The captain can also lock out any or all of the computer's functions and place a code that unlocks them into the system. Until an authorized person inputs the code, those computer functions are no longer available. | |||
* Finally, as an emergency measure, the ranking command officer can lock out all of a starship or starbase's command functions, preventing anyone from accessing the computer until those functions are restored. This is done to prevent an enemy for seizing control of a boarded ship, allowing the crew the opportunity to take counter-measures. | |||
=== '''Locks''' === | |||
* Locks keep things that open closed-from doors to boxes. A lock can be a simple mechanical affair (easy to overcome with the right tools) or a more sophisticated electronic lock. Electronic locks usually have additional security features built into them, such as identifying their owner by fingerprints, retinal print, voice, DNA scan, galvanic skin response, or similar criteria. | |||
== '''Resources''' == | == '''Resources''' == | ||