The Security Challenges of Data Centers

Data centers are a unique end user market with specific and distinctive needs when it comes to security. As the heart of the digital world, data centers are repositories of vast amounts of sensitive information, including financial data, personal information and valuable intellectual property. Data centers also support critical infrastructure such as power grids, transportation systems and healthcare. In short, a compromised data center poses a threat to national security.

Data centers face several distinct physical security challenges that standard commercial building security programs don't adequately address:

• Perimeter protection – detecting and deterring unauthorized entry across large, often remote campuses while minimizing false alarms
• Tiered access control – managing different access levels for staff, contractors and visitors across multiple security zones
• Tracking and behavioral monitoring – recognizing and tracking vehicles, people and objects as they move through the facility to identify anomalies near core assets
• High-risk zone security – protecting server rooms, network closets and data vaults with multi-factor authentication and continuous surveillance

You can learn more about the essential layers of a defense in depth strategy here.

Download the full technology report

This technology report – developed in collaboration between Johnson Controls and SecurityInformed.com – focuses on how physical security systems, including access control, serve the demanding environment of data centers. Developing the best physical security systems for these exacting environments requires purpose-built solutions that integrate multiple layers of protection – from the outer perimeter to individual server cabinets.

In this report:

• The challenges of securing a data center
• Applying unique solutions for individual applications
• The multiple layers of data center security
• Deploying Open Supervised Device Protocol at the lock level
• The power and promise of scalability

FAQs

What is defense in depth for data centers?

Defense in depth is a comprehensive security strategy that uses multiple, layered security controls and technologies to protect assets at every level of data center access. With a layered defense in depth approach to security, data center operators and facility managers can protect the data center from the outside in.

What role does access control play in data center security?

Access control is the first line of defense in a data center security program. It regulates who can enter the facility, which zones they can reach and when access is permitted. Modern systems use multi-factor authentication, biometrics and credential management to restrict entry to authorized personnel at every layer – from the perimeter to individual server cabinets.

What is data center facility security?

Data center facility security includes all the physical processes, technologies and policies used to secure the physical data center location and the assets within it.