Advanced Security Measures In Data Centers: Keeping Your Data Safe

The nature of data centers makes them highly attractive targets for malicious actors. These days, the main target of attacks on data centers is not the physical contents (despite its cost). It’s the data these facilities hold. This is why reputable data centers implement advanced security measures to keep it safe. Here is a quick guide to what you need to know.

Understanding data centers

Data centers are facilities that are used to store, process, and/or distribute data. The volume of data they can hold and the complexity of the operations they can perform is largely determined by their size. Essentially, the bigger a data center is, the more equipment it can hold and, hence, the more it can do.

The importance of data center security

Data centers, literally by definition, are places that contain data, often in significant quantities. Moreover, they are increasingly likely to hold sensitive data. This could range from confidential business data to personal data. Many, if not all, data centers will contain data that is protected by law.

For all these reasons (and more) reputable data center vendors implement robust security. Here is a brief overview of the main steps they take.

Basics of physical security in data centers

Physical security in data centers involves protecting the hardware and infrastructure from physical threats such as unauthorized access, theft, natural disasters, and vandalism. It ensures the integrity, confidentiality, and availability of the data and systems housed within the facility.

Here are five specific physical security measures commonly implemented in data centers.

Perimeter security: Includes fencing, security guards, and barriers to protect the facility’s exterior. These measures prevent unauthorized individuals from approaching the data center.

Surveillance systems: Employ CCTV cameras with high-definition recording and real-time monitoring to oversee all critical areas within and around the data center, detecting and deterring unauthorized activities.

Mantraps: Security vestibules that use interlocking doors to prevent unauthorized entry. Individuals must pass through one door and be authenticated before the second door opens, enhancing access control.

Biometric access controls: Use fingerprints, iris scans, or facial recognition to grant access, ensuring that only authorized personnel can enter sensitive areas.

Environmental controls: Implement fire suppression systems, water detection sensors, and seismic bracing to protect against environmental hazards like fires, floods, and earthquakes, ensuring the physical safety of the infrastructure.

The basics of network security

Network security in data centers involves protecting the integrity, confidentiality, and availability of data and resources as they are transmitted over the network. This includes safeguarding against unauthorized access, attacks, and misuse, and ensuring that the network infrastructure remains secure and reliable.

Here are five specific network security measures commonly implemented in data centers.

Firewalls: These act as barriers between trusted and untrusted networks, filtering incoming and outgoing traffic based on predefined security rules to block malicious traffic.

Intrusion detection and prevention systems (IDPS): Monitor network traffic for suspicious activity. IDS detects and alerts administrators about potential threats, while IPS takes proactive steps to block or mitigate detected threats.

Virtual private networks (VPNs): Securely encrypt data transmitted over public networks, providing secure remote access for authorized users to the data center’s resources.

Network segmentation: Divides the network into smaller, isolated segments, limiting the spread of potential attacks and containing breaches to smaller sections of the network, thereby enhancing overall security.

Access control lists (ACLs): Implement rules on routers and switches to control which users and devices can access various parts of the network. ACLs filter traffic based on IP addresses, protocols, or ports, enhancing network security by restricting unauthorized access.

The basics of data security

Data security in data centers involves protecting data from unauthorized access, corruption, or theft throughout its lifecycle. This includes ensuring the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of data stored, processed, and transmitted within the data center.

Here are five specific data security measures commonly implemented in data centers.

Encryption: Data is encrypted both at rest and in transit using strong encryption protocols (e.g., AES-256). This ensures that even if data is intercepted or accessed without authorization, it remains unreadable.

Data masking: Sensitive data is obfuscated in non-production environments (e.g., during testing or development) to prevent exposure, using techniques like tokenization or anonymization.

Data integrity checks: Employ hash functions and checksums to verify that data has not been altered or tampered with during storage or transmission, ensuring the accuracy and consistency of the data.

Data backup and recovery: Regular, automated backups of critical data are performed and stored securely. Disaster recovery plans are in place to restore data quickly in the event of data loss or corruption, ensuring data availability.

Access control: Implement robust authentication and authorization mechanisms, such as multi-factor authentication (MFA) and role-based access control (RBAC), to ensure that only authorized personnel can access sensitive data.