Data centre security: From curb to core 

Learn from several ASSA ABLOY companies as experts explain how to understand and address data centre security threats. 

Thanks to an evolving digital landscape, managing and processing data has saturated modern society – and the subsequent need for physical data centres has never been higher.

Construction of these information hubs will continue to increase and there’s a corresponding responsibility to secure every aspect of these vital buildings during each stage, from construction to occupation. 

The various sectors within data centres need to work in harmony to protect data, which is highly sensitive and constantly facing physical and cyber-attacks.

How data centre operators approach this multifaceted security ecosystem directly correlates to the efficiencies of their facilities and how they proactively safeguard against attacks. 

Construction  

As construction rapidly continues for new data centre sites, construction job site managers must comprehensively understand which workers have been on site and when they clocked in or out.

Monitoring personnel has gone beyond checking them in on a clipboard or notebook and has advanced to digital technology in the form of workforce management software.  

Automating the once manual solutions must be integrated with an access control network, such as turnstiles or door access control, to guard against workers not authorised to work in certain areas of a job site, especially those complex and highly restricted elements of a data centre environment.

This also extends to vehicular access and understanding what vehicles are within the site perimeter.  

Automating the personnel and process management workflow using this technology streamlines productivity by ensuring workers (and vehicles) are in approved areas and instils accountability to help maintain construction goals and timelines.

It’s also important to know that each worker is accounted for and safe and that the job site is empty at the end of each day.  

Proper site management also includes clear communication with the entire workforce, especially regarding any outdoor construction safety issues or weather hazards.

This is where mass communication tools on workforce management software comes in. Fittingly, data centre construction starts with leveraging data about workforce productivity.  

“To be able to report on metrics like if a certain number of workers were present from the local site versus importing labour from other areas – that’s a demographic question that never existed in data centre construction until recent years,” commented Andy Rudisill, Product Manager – Construction, Biosite/CrewSight. 

“Add that to more granular controls within the site, like controlling a gate placement during construction and knowing which vehicles are allowed inside a perimeter. Ultimately, contractors want peace of mind knowing all workers are safe and accounted for.” 

Perimeter 

Not only is the number of data centres in the industry growing, but so is the physical footprint of many of these facilities.

Whereas previous campuses may have consisted of one or two buildings, they can now encompass dozens of structures that sprawl over hundreds of acres and sometimes include multiple tenants.  

“It has changed how we’re designing that security plan, especially for multi-tenant data centres,” remarked Amy Dunton, Business Development Specialist, Ameristar.

“The owners have requirements of their own, and they’re also trying to meet the needs of their tenants, so it isn’t a cut-and-paste process for the design.” 

Because of the extensive physical layout and growing pressure to build facilities faster, it’s essential to have a temporary yet secure perimeter to keep construction workers safe and unauthorised personnel out while simultaneously installing more permanent solutions.

Fencing that can be installed, uninstalled and moved to other locations quickly is becoming increasingly important as a versatile barrier for a site that would be otherwise exposed.  

Permanent perimeter solutions for data centres are required to meet a growing number of compliance standards by agencies like the Network and Information Security Directive (NISD) and the International Organization for Standardization (ISO.)

Fences and gates have crash rating requirements that protect against physical attacks and can support Perimeter Intrusion Detection Systems (PIDS) like cameras by hiding the corresponding wiring within the rail.  

It’s not enough, though, for those solutions to meet industry standards. Integrating and communicating with internal access control technology is just as important, particularly in data centres that manage artificial intelligence (AI) 

“AI will necessitate three times the number of data centres in the next decade, so the speed of market is huge,” explained Brandy Byrd Chapman, Cloud Provider Data Centres, Ameristar.

“Also, with AI, there’s an increased need for security on-site – they’re hitting a different security level than a standard data centre.” 

Internal entry points 

Moving from the perimeter to within a data centre, stakeholders are in ongoing correspondence about how best to safeguard various departments within a facility. 

“We’ve taken a lot of input from the owners in terms of what they need to achieve operationally, which informs us of what we need to be manufacturing or, in some cases, altering and developing to fulfill their needs,” said Chris Hobbs, Director – National Accounts, ASSA ABLOY Global Solutions. 

Data centres can utilise many internal physical access control solutions – and at the heart of that is protecting the servers. Doors and locks protect the server racks and power supplies and entry point doors ensure server rooms are secure.  

Those rooms need to be temperature-controlled so servers don’t overheat, which indicates a central consideration for data centres – energy efficiency.

Because servers require constant power, the rest of the facility needs to incorporate energy-efficient technology to stay within compliance and avoid unnecessary energy usage. 

For their doors and locks, facility operators must utilise electromechanical solutions versus solenoids, which can yield 95% energy savings in some cases.

Power supplies are also critical in realising energy efficiency goals and their efficiency development over the past decade speaks to their increased usage, especially within data centres. 

Keys and critical shared assets 

In addition to doors and locks, efficiency in managing access to each is primary. Keys remain a critical aspect of data centres as a primary source for access credentials and backup.

Intelligent key cabinets that integrate with the existing access control system help designate who can access which keys and keep them stored in a central location.  

This authorisation process eliminates the need for an employee to check out keys manually and, like construction sites, gives managers a real-time view of who has access to which areas and when.

When keys aren’t returned by a specific time, a notification is issued to management, which helps reduce the downtime spent looking for a lost key. 

Similar benefits are experienced regarding shared assets within data centres, like laptops, tablets and radios. Modular asset management lockers secure these items, which are RFID-tagged to audit usage. Lockers charge these devices and prioritise the most readied asset when an employee checks one out.  

The First In, First Out (FIFO) process cuts down on an employee unknowingly checking out an uncharged device. If an item is faulty, the employee logs it at the locker’s interface, immediately removing it from usage until the fault is corrected.

Temporary deposit lockers are a secure drop-off location for additional items, such as hard drives or sensitive assets, while monitoring their usage. 

Cabinets and lockers save operators money in potential replacement or re-keying costs and further promote operational efficiency, which is paramount within data centres. 

“An important piece in our work with data centres has been centred on speed,” added Craig Newell, Vice President of Sales and Business Development, Traka Americas.

“We closely collaborate on the specifications and standards for key cabinets and lockers, ensuring they can be easily replicated as customers scale to meet needs quickly.” 

Understanding data centre security requires an appreciation of the different facets that make these facilities unique. Because our society relies heavily on data, facilities are urgently needed to help ensure their safe operation.  

That starts with appropriately managing the workforce building these campuses and continues from perimeter measures to inside the facility with physical solutions like doors, locks, keys and shared devices.

How each sector communicates with another is pivotal to the facility’s success.  

Operators need to maintain a holistic view of their processes, as a vulnerability with one of them could impact the others. As cyber-attacks continue to evolve, so too do the security solutions that guard against them – and it’s essential to consider each sector within the data centre ecosystem to prepare best and respond when those attacks come to fruition.