If you are running a data center in India, you must be aware of how challenging it is to ensure across-the-board security for your infrastructure. Over the years, emerging technologies such as the cloud, connected networks, and AI-ML that optimize the functioning of your data center also make it vulnerable to breaches.
While hackers tend to exploit these vulnerabilities for profit, other potential threats coming from lax physical measures or your own people need to be managed carefully. In this post, we will talk about the key challenges involved in tackling data center security.
So, let’s dive in.
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Insider Threat
Most of us would agree that people pose the biggest risk to the security of a data center. Even if you have the best cyber security measures in place, you are likely to face risks if your own people are not competent enough.
Your employees play an indispensable part in keeping your colocation server functional, so make sure you pay attention to insider threats, even if you have a stringent hiring process in place.
If an attacker wants to break into a system, he will most likely exploit the weakest link, and that happens to be the people, and not firewalls or encryption algorithms as many tend to think. Employees have the potential to inflict enormous damage to your data center. They can easily abuse the rights they enjoy for their personal gains.
In order to minimize such risks, it is vital that you conduct regular training programs for people across your organization. Train employees to carry out stringent security procedures before they allow anyone an access to your premises/systems. Implement thorough background checks and place robust physical security measures throughout your facility. You can also consider sending mock phishing emails or teach them other situational awareness tactics.
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Physical Security
Many organizations overlook the physical security aspect of their data centres and focus primarily on cyber security. Physical security should never be an afterthought. Even when your facility has the most fool-proof cyber security measures in place, it can be physically threatened by insiders or outsiders.
Here are some of the physical security solutions you can implement in order to secure your data center at a physical level:
- Alarms: Alarms fitted with motion sensors or breakage sensors can deter people from breaking into your premises.
- Access Control: An individual should be allowed to access your server rooms/premises only when absolutely necessary. When allowing access, make sure you implement multi-factor authentication.
- CCTV Surveillance: High-resolution CCTV cameras should be placed at all strategic points including entry and exit-there should be at least one in every server room and, if possible, one in every rack row.
- Temperature and Humidity Sensors: Temperature sensors will raise an alarm if your server room overheats. Similarly, humidity sensors will alert you if your pipes break or flooding occurs.
- IT Assets
Another aspect that tends to get overlooked is the physical security of your IT assets. Several data centers in India have old or outdated hard drives or servers stored within their premises. These can be stolen if not sanitized properly. To avoid such a scenario, it’s vital that you don’t have IT hardware waiting to be decommissioned.
Regardless of whether you are using physical destruction or data erasure, you have to ensure all data has been cleared off your assets before they leave your premises. Even when you are sending your hardware for physical destruction, make sure it has been sanitized of all data as security issues can arise in transit.
Many times, hard drives or servers are redeployed within the same facility for new users. In such situations, all data should be removed before reconfiguration occurs.
- Internet of Things (IoT)
As per a study by Statista, the number of connected devices is estimated to reach 31 billion by 2025 globally. These rising figures present both opportunities and challenges. As more devices (and connections) become a part of your data center network, they bring in new, hitherto-unseen challenges
Under such a scenario, IT managers and CIOs need to focus on creating secure deployment policies and practices and building architecture that accommodates IoT-enabled devices and sensors.
Best Practices to ensure the security of your data center in India
- Secure your Hardware: Only by securing your hardware devices, you can prevent theft or breach of your valuable data and avoid putting it in the hands of
- Create Data Backup and Encryption: Organizations can prevent access to confidential data by means of encryption. So far, encryption remains the most efficient means of securing data from a breach. Thanks to encryption, you can secure sensitive information pertaining to your customers, employees, and clients.
- Make security a priority at the workplace: As discussed above, employees are a common cause of data breaches; so make sure your employees have an understanding of the actions that make your premises prone to risks. Security training of employees can go a long way in safeguarding your data.
- Invest in cybersecurity insurance: With advancement in technology, cybercriminals are coming up with sophisticated ways of breaching security defenses. So, it is recommended that you seek the help of a cybersecurity expert and choose a suitable insurance plan depending on the likelihood of an attack and the financial impact it can have on your business.
Can you think of any other measures that can boost a data centre’s security? Let us know in the comment section.
