Colocation Data Security More Than Just Firewalls

In the Internet age, access to information and data has expanded to all corners of the Earth. With this exponential growth of access, the security risks for data and users have also grown more numerous.  For an individual, these risks come in the form of personal intrusions like viruses and botnets. For a business, the risk is much greater.  Hackers seek to steal data and information from businesses, and even rival companies might seek to sabotage a business’ data. When a company stores sensitive data: financial reports, customer billing and personal information, employee information, or proprietary company secrets—any theft or loss of data is catastrophic.  To protect the integrity of digital information, companies frequently turn to colocation centers.

What is a colocation center?

A colocation facility is a data center, where companies can store their servers securely, while paying the facility for services like space, power, cooling, network connectivity, and security. In exchange for this fee, the colocation center ensures that client servers remain online, powered on, and safe from fire, disaster, or security intrusion.

How does colocation center security work?

The best colocation facilities will offer many levels of security to protect client server assets from both physical and virtual intrusion. Only one type of protection is insufficient; businesses should only contract with colocation centers that provide multiple layers of protection from data theft or sabotage.

At the physical level, businesses should expect that servers are protected from physical intrusion.  Unauthorized access to physical assets should never occur under any circumstances. The colocation provider should have an access-controlled parking facility. By checking access at the gate, “hitchhikers” cannot follow through immediately behind another vehicle.

After entering the facility, IDs should be checked in the reception area, to catch any unauthorized persons who may have made it through the parking control. Hallways, elevators and floors should also be access controlled with man traps and biometric identification. Man traps are controlled corridors which require one door to be closed before the other can be opened. These measures will prevent competitors from leasing space in the same facility and then attempting to access server rooms that do not belong to them.

In the server rooms, individual cabinets and racks should be controlled through ID scanners and/or physical lock and key systems. ID scanners are preferable; the authorization list can be updated in an instant to prevent rogue or disgruntled employees from wreaking havoc.

Servers should be equipped with firewalls to prevent digital intrusion, and all activity on the machines should be logged continuously. The entire facility should be monitored with video cameras as well, so if an intrusion does occur, video footage and data logs can be analyzed immediately.

If a business truly cares about the security of their data and that of their customers, they should invest in the protection a colocation center can offer. The best colocation centers consider security of client data one of their highest priorities.