Paranoid attitude must for foolproof datacentre security

KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA: Are you a paranoid? Information security is one of those few fields where having a paranoid’s attitude will take you far. Things can move towards the state of “security perfection” if seen from a paranoid’s eye.

In this article we would present to you a Data center from a paranoid’s perspective.  We will be asking those typical “what if” paranoid’s security questions based on various issues, which can be classify in the following categories:



•    Location of data Center

•    Access control to the Data Center

•    Infrastructure failures at the Data Center

•    Personnel issues at the Data Center

Later in this article we would then provide measures and control and answers for these paranoids’ questions.

Location of data center

What if the natural disaster happens? Say the woods next to the data center catch fire? An earthquake or a flood hits it?



Location of the Data center should be done in such a way that it is away from all natural and human vulnerabilities. Locations that can leave data centers vulnerable include those near airports, railways, seaports and crime areas. For example

Feb 18, 2004 Neyshabour, Iraq,a string of 51 wagons loaded with chemicals, fuel and fertiliser derailed and exploded at Khayyam station affecting area within 15 kms range.

But then again Data center should be near the basic amenities like hospital, police station and fire station.

Here in this case the data center is located near the woods, which does have a high chance of catching fire. So here what can we do is to get rid of them is to chop the ones in the immediate vicinity. And make proper arrangements as to how to combat fire if in case it happens via fire extinguishers, fire drills and evacuation policy.

Usually there is not much one can do against angry Mother Nature. All you can do is to take precautions. The first step is do research about the area in which you plan to establish the data center and make sure it is not in a earthquake prone or flood prone area.

Apart from this, the data center should have proper drainage to control the over flowing water in case of flood and strong special foundation to with stand earthquake. There are organization which can do the earthquake testing for the data center and recommend changes.

What if someone buys the empty land next to our Data center to sabotage our data centre?



To avoid this data center should try to buy the land around it. It is a costly solution, but if paranoia is the disease the medicine sure will be expensive.

Keeping a friendly relationship and a better eye on the neighbors is another way to avoid them leasing or selling their land to the enemy.

What if the data center buses and employees car parked at the premises blow up?

To avoid this we have to make sure the car parking are always away from the data center. However for loading purposes the carriers should unload at the unloading bay and after doing their business should immediately proceed to the parking area.

And what if our data center might be hit by a plane?

Well this paranoia won’t have shocked you. Did it? Well actually it is not paranoia anymore but in fact a valid fear. Wow!! Still can’t believe someone actually though it that way.

To avoid this first of all we should surround the data center building with taller building. And we can have satellite or radar system which would ring alarms incase a flying object comes inside the range.  Well this set up would be pretty affordable if you make money at home.

Access control to the Data Center:

What if someone is a look alike or twin of a person who has right to access?

This can be prevented by implementing strict biometric controls like retinal scan or fingerprint scan. Currently biometrics is considered as one of the most effective means of authentication.

What if the authenticating device is itself changed?

This can be prevented only by better safeguard measure to prevent this from happening. E.g. getting password enabled authenticators, which would ask for password before connecting. The authenticator should be made accessible only when it is needed and should be better controlled.

What if someone pretends to be a valid third party (vendor) with valid ID tries to gain access to data center.

To prevent this proper background check should be done prior to allowing access to them. A brief Q & A session should be done to verify whether the person is who he claims to be. And a correspondence should be made with the vendor to validate their claim. A vendor policy should be created

What if someone let lose some poisonous or sleeping gas through unsealed conduit chambers? Or what if someone uses a sewage way to access the data centre?



This is a good one. To prevent this, filters should be implanted wherever possible. Smoke alarms and sensors, detectors should be implanted wherever possible.

Sewage pipes should be properly locked with grills and the area which might be important should have hidden cameras and sensor alarms. It should be made sure that the cameras complement each other in terms of coverage. The floor below the data center and also the walls should be hardened. Well if you have watched “Rock” you will know what I mean.

Infrastructure failures at the Data Center:

What if the backup fails?

This can be controlled by implementing multi point back ups and by creating a policy to test all the back up regularly.

What if the connection to the internet is down as an act of sabotage by the service providers?

To avoid this, data center should have two or more back up connections, coming from different vendors. And on top of that failure over systems should be deployed.

What if the power back up itself fails?

The most common UPS point of failure is the battery. The solution is dual battery strings. Another must-have is battery monitoring tools . Back generators at the site are again a must requirement. And ya it would be better idea to have an onsite electrician.

What if the cables heat up and catch a fire?

This can be avoided by using good quality cables. Limited combustible cabling (LCC) can be deployed in this scenario. LCC can hang on up to 10 times longer than a typical communication metallic plenum-rated cable.

What if someone with a camera phone clicks at confidential areas of data center?

This can be controlled by implementing the policy that all the communication devices used within the compound should be authorized. In critical places camera phones shouldn’t be allowed. And in more critical area no mobile phones or mobile devices should be allowed.

What if the whole building catches fire or is blown up?

The only way this can be controlled is to have a hot site. A Hot Site is typically a remote, exact duplicate of your data facility, kept updated, idle and running 24/7 just in case you have a disaster that disables your current facility.

Personnel issues at the Data Center

What if employee with a clean record turns out to be a spy?

To control this verification checks should be done on staff not only at the time of job applications, but through out. For those working on critical functions a detective agency should be employed to keep a strong eye on them.

What if a contract employee who is about to finish his term uses his still valid privilege to access data center (before his term expires) with some bad intention?

We have to create policy for these kind of staff specially who are about to the finish their term, that their privileges be limited exactly to their functionality, whereby other privileges which the employee enjoyed previously but now not needed should be take away.

What if a person who is not supposed to know about a secret knows it and then tries to misuse it? 

If it is found that employee duties and areas of responsibility overlap. They should be separated in order to reduce opportunities for unauthorized modification or misuse of information or services.  The data center should look into employee motivation and satisfaction to win the loyalty of the employees.

What if our own employee lets out a secret?

Data center should ask employees to sign Confidentiality or non-disclosure agreement as a part of their initial terms and conditions of the employment which if breached may lead to legal action.

Sometimes the organizational culture can plays a great role in term of security. The data center top management should inculcate such culture that all the employees follow what is required of them.

Holistic solution need of hour 

Here in this section I would like to suggest some holistic solution to the entire Data center.

Data Center Security Policy:

Data centre should have fine tuned data center Policy to cater for the organization’s needs. If a proper policy is implemented most of the paranoid problems can be controlled and mitigated.

Risk Control Plan:

The data center should go through a proper risk assessment process and based on that should follow risk treatment plan to mitigate the risk.

Ring approach to the Physical security of datacenter:

When considering physical Security, the Data Center should have different rings of security. As depicted in the diagram there can be 6 rings of protection:

All the above mentioned rings are important at their own level and complement each other. Each level provides means of protection for the inner level. Here physical security issue at each level should be addressed precisely such that it further strengthens the physical security of inner layers.

Conclusion

If done properly according to a proper policy and procedure most of the paranoid question won’t arise. But they won’t totally vanish.

More security would definitely reduce paranoia but might make the working conditions hard and end up in high costs.

Let us not forget that security is about easiness, freedom from worry and for the peace of mind. Over doing it may end up destroying its purpose.

Author is Senior Security Consultant at Ascendsys.  Ascendsys, a international managed security services company is an active member of IMPACT ( International Multilateral Partnership against Cyber Terrorism).

IMPACT is dedicated to bringing together governments, industry leaders and cyber security experts to enhance the global community's capacity to prevent and respond to cyber threats.