Author: EES

What is Data Center Security?

Data Center Security refers to the physical and virtual protection of your data network and all connected technologies. Datacenter infrastructure is prone to cyber-attacks, data loss, and many attacks on databases like SQL injection, hacking, tailgating, intellectual property theft. You probably know that a data center is simply the storage facility for the IT infrastructure of your business.

Keep in mind that a data center provides many services, including data organization, processing, storage, data recovery, backup, etc. Data centers hold the most crucial technologies regarding the operations of your business. Your data center security and physical safety have to be considered as the topmost priority. Access to the data center and safety procedures have to get managed and maintained consistently.

Best Known Practices for Data Center Security

Mentioning all the datacenter security best practices, procedures, and methods is absolutely difficult because they are just too many. But don’t worry, this article will concentrate on the most important:

Physical Accessibility Security Control

Although there are several variables to devotional physical safety, the construction of the structure itself is a major consideration. You can dedicate a building to the housing of a data center, or additional services and offices independent of the data center. Protect it from internal and environmental threats. Add an area with little windows and bullet protective walls.

Other significant physical safety issues include on-site video monitoring, safety guards, and metal detectors, as well as tiered security methods adapted for protecting data sensitivity, security checkpoints, limited or single access, departure points, etc.

You’ll love this one,

The application of mantraps. This includes an airlock between two different doors, and both doors require authentication. Consider future extensions within the same limits Separate white-space support systems enable allowed employees to fulfill their functions. It also inhibits the unattended access of maintenance and service professionals.

Monitoring and Limiting Access Physically and Virtually

Secured spaces, in particular those with servers and vital assets, should never allow unauthorized employees access. To do this, data centers require various tiers of physical and digital access restrictions. Human error is a major area of caution, more especially for data centers.

The first safeguards that spring to mind are access cards and identity badges; even offices that do not possess data use them in their centers. Additional guarantees include ongoing background checks by allowed staff, weight scales, visitors entering and leaving the premises, and biometric locks.

All individually guarded areas need to get authenticated and accessed in over one way, as not all workers need to access every section of a data center. Biometric technology is an effective safety layer based on unique features of an individual, such as a fingerprint or a retinal scan. Besides conventional access cards, many businesses are implementing biometric-controlled locks.

You must implement specific security measures for each room and location, depending on the sensitivity of the data and equipment involved.

Regular Network Security Audits

Firewalls and IDs assist the monitoring and checking of traffic before reaching your internal network for perimeter safety. To enhance their defenses, a data center must frequently deploy access control lists. Most current firewalls have ACLs, which enable or restrict traffic to particular locations by analyzing the information in the header packet.

The firewall of a data center gets created by defining access control lists for particular interfaces.

The basic aim of a firewall is to block unauthorized access, and it works as the network’s initial defensive line, dividing its secured and unprotected sections. Just make sure you do not use the firewall as just a measure of security theatre.

Understand this;

Access control should highlight the monitoring of IP addresses and the establishment of various threat prevention services. Traffic monitoring should always be workable, and any menaces and background noise should get distinguished quickly.

Another significant aspect of network security in data centers is intrusion detection systems.

They can identify anomalous activities by users or phishing signs, DDoS assaults, and other common or sophisticated threats to the network. Authentication of two and three factors is also an important measure of network security. You must conduct penetration testing annually, or perhaps twice a year. And ensure to include a certified third party to help with pen-testing.

Protection of Data

All data must be heavily secured, monitored at all times and periodically backed up for efficient protection and storage during transport. In addition, all data security protocols must monitor current trends, approaches, and technology.

You must always pursue strong password restrictions and good cybersecurity and spread the culture in all staff who frequently interact with data.

What is a Datacenter Security Solution?

Data Center Security Solutions are the specialized tools, software, and equipment that help you keep your data secured from threats; internal or external, and increase sustainability. Security solutions get designed to safeguard your online networked system from cyber-attacks and to ensure security over your business’ computing infrastructure.

The top three goals for datacenter security solutions include:

1. Prevention from damage
2. Fast detection of probable threats
3. Quick Remediation

Datacenter security software works by either creating an unbreakable firewall or detailed security monitoring to track allowed and unauthorized access to data resources. While choosing your data center security product, ensure to check all the features.

Most of the datacenter security solutions offer several additional safety features to help manage security-related threats better.

FireEye

A security solution was established around toughening datacenter security. They designed FireEye for cybersecurity and it evidently delivers targeted security. This solution is can detect advanced terrorizations, and it’s engineered to launch the best-mitigated response to remove any threat.

The FireEye Helix is the key product; a cloud-hosted security platform featuring high-grade endpoint security, expansive apparency, threat intelligence, and network and email security.

What a useful package!

With the use of advanced analytics and AI, you can catch all threats in real-time. Besides, you will know more about your datacenter’s limitations and program vulnerabilities. This will help you fortify those special security measures.

Cisco

Cisco Systems need no introduction!

They have introduced a highly commanding and strong software-focused networking security tool that will amaze you with its long list of impressive AI features and standard tools for securing your datacenter against cyberattacks. Looking at the Application Centric Infrastructure (ACI) platform, you need to be an expert, because one with simple basic knowledge cannot handle it.

It’s quite a complex tool, but definitely worth the effort. Consider it a smart, long-lasting investment. Cisco datacenter security systems are made for consistent multi-cloud networking. All you need is ONE click, and they will present you with all Cisco ACI fabric information in a single view. Cisco Cloud ACI guarantees secure automated connectivity.

IBM

If you want a variety of security solutions for your datacenter, look no further than IBM. It guarantees enhanced security.

Buying IBM will get you:

• Unbeatable firewall management
• Unparalleled intelligent cloud management
• Hyperactive intrusion detection
• Highly responsive prevention system management
• Immediate security intelligence analysis
• Refined gateway management
• Forged endpoint security
• Ultra-secure SD-WAN
• Robust unified threat management

McAfee

This is one of the most recognized names for delivering top-class security services. McAfee datacenter security solutions make massive amounts of data threat resistant. This solution has cloud-native tools that comprise a long-range of useful and inspiring products and services.

Alongside overall visibility, it offers renowned protection regarding unpatched databases, with highlighted features that include:

• Amazing endpoint security
• Cloud access security broker (CASB)
• Data loss prevention
• Automated database discovery
• Easy to use single-pane manageability
• Advanced encryption tools

Are you interested in having real-time protection from internal, external, and intra-database threats? Then this is your solution.

Symantec

It’s impossible to roam the cybersecurity field and never come across the name Symantec!

With broad-scale enterprise items that address many datacenter security threats along with sustaining their security, Symantec is always ready to give you integrated cybersecurity with its highly progressive software. The key appeal for Symantec is how its system can detect and mitigate advanced threats whilst protecting information with outclassed endpoint data security.

Its tools can effectively give you the best of both the cloud and on-premise worlds!

WHOA!

With all-inclusive server protection, it will make the monitoring easier either through clouds or firewalls. The astonishing ability to block zero-day exploits takes it to the top of the list.

Before illustrating HOW best you can optimize your datacenter security, let’s quickly understand WHAT a Datacenter is, and WHY it’s important for any and every business.

For those who don’t know, we’ll start with the basics!

What is a Datacenter?

Without delving into intricate terms and excessive details, a Datacenter is simply a facility responsible for saving the company’s large amounts of sensitive or proprietary information, whether it is about team members, business deals, or finances. Consider it a corporation’s IT infrastructure based on networked computers holding all data that must be digitally and physically secured.

In modern times, cloud computing a very cost-effective and efficient option. And it comes with three basic functionalities:

1. Data storage
2. Backup and recovery
3. Data management and networking

What is Datacenter Security?

“Datacenter security includes all the physical and virtual practices that are available and exercised to guard your datacenter storage facility against national and international external threats.”

Why is Data Center Security Important?

Every year, many businesses lose significant financial resources and data to cyber-attacks. The only way to put an eventual stop to these incurring losses is to implement an unbreakable security strategy, both physical and in technological terms.

Datacenter security plays an important role when:

• Securing the finances and budgeting
• Keeping the proprietary and personal data private
• Keeping the customers’ trust
• Maintaining the company’s reputation
• Restricting the unwelcoming access
• Protection from cyber-bullying
• Security against cyber-attacks

How can you Improve Data Center Security?

Remember, you must work hard to certify the optimal level of security for your datacenter overview; it’s a highly intricate network that demands ultra-safety and protection.

Keep reading to get hold of the top 5 ways to improve datacenter security:

Offer Access to the Limited Staff

Keep a close eye on who enters and leaves the Data Center. It’s important to train your datacenter security team to keep a detailed record of individuals who can gain access to critical areas of your data center, and all sensitive data. This will help to track unauthorized activities.

Restricting datacenter access to a specialized security management team must be your top priority.

Enhanced Physical Security

What we mean by physical security exactly is:

• Installing CCTV throughout the building, not only the Data Center. You must install cameras with clear angles at the center’s entrance, exit, and access points. 24hrs. surveillance is a necessity of time.
• Keep the number of windows and doors minimum
• Invest money and time, effort, and hard work in hiring a specialized security team
• Making the Datacenter strong enough to withstand weather calamities. Ensure the walls are well-forged, thickened, and made bulletproof, so it will keep your information safe from terrorist attacks, industrial accidents, and even natural disasters.
• Take all the measures for fire protection
• Design your center with no blind spots and have the architecture that offers complete visibility

Access Control Systems & Biometrics

Another way to ensure security is the application of “biometric identification” as a method of entry that doesn’t work on access cards. Or else, use application-scanning and code-scanning tools at access points (entry and exit). These tools help you highlight all the vulnerable points where hackers can easily make quick and silent access.

Well, that is not all!

The easiest but most assured tactic is to create a mantrap! Yes, you have heard it right! You can create a mantrap by installing two doors with an airlock where the last or second door to exit or entry will only open on getting authentication from the other side of the door.

Network Security

Once you are all done with physically optimizing your datacenter security and accessibility, you move on to “securing the network”. The hard work starts from here!

Start with installing firewalls as a first layer defense fortifying the accessing perimeter. It will help you get rid of unauthorized traffic right at the entry-level.

The next step is to make the best out of the Zero Trust model; to inspect and monitor all the internal traffic that’s entering your network. If any threat has dodged your perimeter firewall, it will get detected instantly by the model, and it will begin its removal at the moment.

For the ultimate security, or we can say to add an extra pop, put A Security Information and Event Management tool (SIEM) in your networked computers. It will enhance the overall visibility of the upcoming traffic and give you extensive control over your system by updating alarm systems and sensors.

Get a real-time view of your datacenter’s security posture!

Bonus:

Wireless networking is not a necessity datacenters because it’s pretty difficult to maintain and supervise.

Secure Your Data for Emergency

The last step is to be ready if anything goes down. But how? By taking comprehensive measures including:

• Complete data backup
• Easy modes of data recovery
• Using data encryption while sharing or transferring data