Physical Security of Data Centers: What Precautions Should You Consider?
Storing information securely in virtual environments is vital. Unauthorized access to information held in data centers, in particular, can cause serious security problems. Now that information technology has become ubiquitous, data center security matters more than ever. Ensuring data security requires a range of administrative and technical measures to be applied without interruption, and these measures must be implemented in line with established standards.
How Can Data Center Physical Security Be Ensured?
Ensuring the physical security of a data center requires a number of steps. These key steps are outlined below:
1. Identifying Potential Threats in Advance
Physical threats can take two forms: hardware theft and direct attacks on the data center. The data center provider therefore needs to take precautions against such attacks in advance.
2. Establishing Access Control Systems
Data center security requires entrances and exits to be monitored continuously, both physically and digitally. Security measures such as fingerprint readers, PIN codes, biometric scanning, or access cards should be in place at data center entrances. In addition, visitors should be accompanied by authorized personnel for the entire duration of their stay in the data center.
3. Using Code-Locked Cabinets
The physical security of a data center can be enhanced through shared or dedicated cabinets, separate data center rooms, and custom cage options tailored to hosting requirements. This allows all servers to be hosted in secure cage or cabinet systems protected by access codes and locks. These cabinets, cages, or areas can also be adapted to the technical infrastructure and requirements of the data center.
4. Choosing the Right Location for the Data Center
The physical security of a data center is directly linked to its location. Site studies should therefore assess not only the physical risks but also how much the data center can grow in the years ahead.
When establishing a data center, companies should choose an easily accessible location. Care should also be taken to ensure that the facility is built away from power plants, airports, chemical plants, earthquake fault lines, and other areas prone to natural disasters. Otherwise, service interruptions may occur, resulting in both financial and intangible losses.
In addition, an identical or optimized version of the IT infrastructure can be set up in different cities, making data centers easier to monitor and secure.
5. Ensuring Compliance with Standards
Ensuring the physical security of data centers requires adherence to certain standards. These include, in particular, information security standards, central operations management standards, and data center infrastructure standards. It is therefore essential that the company providing your data center services is reliable and professional.
6. Implementing Security Procedures for Departing Employees
When an employee with access to sensitive information and documents leaves the company, it is crucial to follow established security procedures, including changing passwords and access codes, to safeguard the organization's data and assets. In addition, all of the departing employee's access credentials must be revoked.
The data center service provider should also be contacted so that the list of persons authorized to access the data can be updated and the necessary measures taken. This ensures that only authorized persons can access the data.
Finally, factors such as the right technology infrastructure and a high-security building design must also be taken into account to ensure the physical security of a data center. For more detailed information and support on data center physical security, contact SERBAN's experts.