Data centres are one of the sectors on the rise. Ensuring its proper functioning without interruptions and data security is a key point in data centre management.
However, there is a tendency to believe that it is enough to secure these data centres at a digital level and physical security remains in the background. This can cause failures in its operation and risks in data management.
The integral security of the CPD is essential to guarantee its correct functioning with total guarantees. Many external causes can lead to serious problems in data centres, such as malicious access, power failures or surges.
Therefore, it is necessary to invest time and effort in acclimatizing the data centre space to turn it into a safe environment in all aspects. Implementing physical security measures would help considerably improve the operation of the data centre and ensure uninterrupted service.
In this sense, the data experts recommend incorporating different measures in newly built data centres and adapting the existing data centre space to improve security on a physical level. Thus, they propose the following steps.
Access control: Avoiding unauthorized access, possible acts of vandalism or theft of CPD components is essential to guarantee the service. Therefore, access control is one of the key aspects to cover in physical security. In this sense, the doors must be effective to prevent access to outsiders, and therefore, they must be made of a robust material. In addition, these must be connected to an efficient access control system adapted to each space. Experts advise opting for designs that combine security codes with biometric recognition to provide a double layer of security. Likewise, it should note that these control systems allow data to be obtained with all authorized accesses and failed login attempts, which makes it possible to update these methods if necessary.
Ensure electrical current: Although the priority of the data centre sector is currently focused on energy efficiency and experts are working on implementing energy-saving improvements, it is necessary to guarantee its operation. Thus, a power outage can cause the server to crash and, therefore, a serious interruption in service. In this sense, it is advisable to install uninterruptible power supply systems that allow power to be available for a specific time.
Video surveillance: Although the probability of failure of access control is almost non-existent, it is possible to occur and malicious access to the rack room. For this reason, installing video surveillance equipment in strategic places within the space is important. Thus, it will be possible to have the attack recorded on video, and it will serve to know what data has been attempted to extract or what system has been damaged.
Containment measures against external agents: Fire or humidity can be fatal in data centres, destroying all the information they contain. To prevent it from happening, it is important to install sensors that reveal temperature and humidity, with real-time monitoring to avoid disaster. Likewise, it is important to incorporate systems that detect the presence of fire and proceed to extinguish it.
