What Is The Physical Security Of A Data Center?

As stated before an IDS and IPS will be put in to place to watch the system at all times to report and mitigate if not stop unauthorized activity to the business backup and research databases. This will help with monitoring the network and see what and where unauthorized traffic and attempts are coming from. Anti-virus and anti-malware programs will be installed on all systems in both databases to protect the information and programs. Firewall implementation between the networks is necessary to keep unauthorized attempts from getting in to the business side of the database. All information will be encrypted so that if the data is or any hardware is stolen then the information be more difficult to read and will hopefully discourage the thief. To prevent a brute force attack through a console connection after 3 attempts at a password the system will lock down that port and a flag will be sent to the data center technician on duty. To ensure that the person that is attempting to gain access to the server through a console connection a token that generates a random alphanumeric code will be used.

Correct location of IS facility and computer rooms to minimize the likelihood of fire occurrence.

On arrival they witnessed smoke and flames on the mid level of the building. Two battalion chiefs arrived on scene and one proceeded to set up incident command at the lobby, while the other led fire fighters up the building for fire attack (Routley 8). One of the security guards then informed the chiefs that the fire was on the 22nd floor, and at 2033 battalion chief 5 ordered a second alarm (Routley 8). Due to insufficient fire protection around the utility lines all power was lost to the building (Routley 8). At the loss of primary power the emergency generator didn’t kick in due to improper maintenance it was unable to start (Routley 8). This profoundly impacted the fire operations for the remainder of the incident because the entire building was left without electricity (Routley 8). As stated in the tactical report, “This total power failure had a major impact on the firefighting operations. The lack of lighting made it necessary for firefighters to carry out suppression operations in complete darkness using only battery powered lights. Since there was no power to operate elevators, firefighters were forced to hand carry all suppression equipment including SCBA replacement cylinders up the stairs to the staging area that was established on the 20th floor. In addition, personnel had to climb at least 20 floors

Physical security which includes access to the plants, to the rooms housing servers and other computing devices.

Office 365 data is stored in the Microsoft network of data centers, run by Microsoft Global Foundation Services and strategically located around the world. These data centers are built from the ground up to protect services and data from harm by natural disaster or unauthorized access. Data center access is restricted 24 hours per day by job function so that only essential personnel have access to customer applications and services. Physical access control uses multiple authentication and security processes, including badges and smart cards, biometric scanners, on-premises security officers, continuous video surveillance, and two-factor authentication. The data centers are monitored using motion sensors, video surveillance, and security breach alarms. Security in the event of natural disaster includes seismically braced racks where required and automated fire prevention and extinguishing systems.

In today's world, data and access to that data are vital. The speed and growth of technology have increased the uses and development of data centers all over the world. Medical data is one such type of data that is pushing the growth of these kinds of facilities. As increasingly organizations that provided medical care move into the uses of digital medical records, the need for medical data centers increases. In fact, some predicted that over the next five years, this need would increase significantly (Jones, 2012). This paper is about building a physical security data center for medical data collected and used by a United States Agency.

3. How do I communicate to others in the building? Will the overhead paging work if power is out, if so for how long? Are there backup methods, like through the phones, or bull horn?

As a recently established company ABC Healthcare has a still developing information technology structure that was initialized with a centralized structure in mind. As a centralized structure we can clearly distinguish the data servers as the centralized information unit, managed and maintained by single network administrator, a recently hired IT network security officer who directly reports to the CIO (Chief Information Officer). All nodes on the network connect via a switch that controls incoming and outgoing traffic, posing as a future single point of failure for the system. All working stations and shared devices are currently poorly secured in open cubicles and utilize default access credentials that can easily lead to unauthorized access by a thereat agents (internal or external).

In terms of Windows operating system, which is used by ninety five percent of Costco’s data center systems, the most lethal form of attacks are at the kernel level. The significant vulnerabilities and the associated risks are: not defining the security requirements based on the stored information, provided applications and services, and the purpose of the operating system; no clearly defined guidelines for user categories, privileges, and information access restrictions; user authentication problems; information management weaknesses; weak management of other files and resources stored on connected hosts, such as database servers; loosely defined administrative privileges; and finally the risks related to the vulnerabilities in the security mechanisms, such as anti-virus, firewalls, and logging (Scarfone, Jansen, & Tracy,

Whether it’s called Cloud Computing or On-demand Computing, Software as a Service, or the Internet as Platform, the common element is a shift in the geography of computation. When you create a spreadsheet with the Google Docs service, major components of the software reside on unseen computers, whereabouts unknown, possibly scattered across continents. This affects all levels of the computational ecosystem, from casual user to software developer, IT manager, even hardware manufacturer. Recently, a lot of vendors have started talking about “cloud computing” in their marketing materials. Citing a research published by Merrill Lynch entitled “The Cloud Wars: $100+ billion at stake,” Merrill Lynch has estimated a $160- billion addressable market opportunity, including $95- billion in business and productivity applications, and another $65-billion in online advertising for Cloud Computing. But the main question is whether the users are ready to give up using services on their local machines and shift to the Cloud since shifting to cloud computing has both advantages and disadvantages for all possible users; nevertheless, they may have different level of importance for different users

Cloud computing is a topic of which much is assumed. The average person recognizes the term “cloud computing” as having to do with their storage from their iPad or iPhone on the online storage area which syncs their Apple devices to their computer. This common cloud is called the iCloud. That is where common knowledge ends about this topic. However, upon further exploration, a deeper understanding is gained with greater explanation, and it is realized that cloud computing is something that is used all of the time on many levels of everyday technology. While the terminology remains cryptic to the mind of most people, the concepts behind the practical uses of cloud computing become quite clear. It is relatable and understandable. Upon this revelation, the iCloud is recognized as the tip of the preverbal iceberg when speaking about cloud computing. It is important to discuss and further understand the many types of cloud computing as well as the various applications to life through technology. This affects how information is stored online, computers are protected, information is secured, emails are processed, and many other factors that are taken for granted in the world of technology. Cloud computing is a general term used to describe how information is stored, utilized, and accessed over the internet. There is no cloud, but the word cloud gives the connotation of an abstract place which is known to exist but is too vast to touch or contain (Griffith,

All access to government servers, network devices and maintenance areas of the government agency's data center will be role-based and defined through authentication at a minimum (Amsel, 1988). Access methods will require two-party authentication and for access to server operating systems and rack-mounted servers, biometrics will also be required. One of the most critical success factors to ensuring a high level of security and stability and to guard again social engineering threats is to create and maintain authentication methods that thwart illusionary and coercive-driven access attempts (Burgess, Canright, Engø-Monsen, 2004). By having several roles requires to gain access to data,

The National Institute of Standards and Technology describes cloud storage as a model for enabling ubiquitous, on-demand network access to a shared configurable computing resources that can be swiftly accessed and released with minimal effort or service provider collaboration. It is comprised of a collection of hardware and software that allows the infrastructure of the cloud to work in a seamless, unified effort. Depending on the classification of information and the service provider the remote servers can be located within the same facility. The stored data is

Cloud Computing appears as a computational paradigm as well as a distribution architecture and its main objective is to provide secure, quick, convenient data storage and net computing service, with all computing resources visualized as services and delivered over the Internet [2,3]. The cloud enhances collaboration, agility, scalability, availability, ability to adapt to fluctuations according to demand, accelerate development work, and provides potential for cost reduction through optimized and efficient computing [4].As the data