A security tape comprises a mesh sensor strip in which a filament is woven or otherwise provided to serve as a single continuous signal path across substantially the entire area of the mesh strip. The filament may be an electrical wire or an optical fiber to carry, respectively, an electrical signal or an optical signal. A layer of flexible insulative material is bonded to each side of the mesh strip by an adhesive on the bonding surface of each of the layers. During bonding of the layers to the mesh strip, the adhesive flows into the mesh structure and structurally fixes the filament in its position in the mesh. The mesh sensor strip and bonded layers can be cut to any desired length and each end of the filament is connectable to respective connector units. One connector unit is connected to a signal source, and the other connector unit is connected to a signal receiver. A break in the filament will cause a loss of constant continuous conduction and therefore loss of signal received by the receiver thereby indicating an alarm condition. The security tape protects against both intrusion and extrusion events across any boundary of a volumetric space which cause breakage of the signal path and trigger an alarm indication. The absence of a required real-time electrical or optical conduction signal signifies an alarm state, hence the system is fail-safe.
