D ATA S E C U R I T Y
A Multi-Step Approach to Security
An Evolution in Infrastructure
By Sean McAvan, Managing Director of NaviSite Europe
Introduction
Sean McAvan outlines
the importance of
securing your data
centre from human error
Ten years ago, few could have predicted
what today’s data centres would look
like. The development of technologies
like cloud computing and the explosion
of data generated from the likes of
social media and the Internet of Things
has completely changed the modern
data centre. This data growth not only
impacts how and where data is stored,
but has created the challenge of how
to protect this information. In recent
years we have seen an evolution in
infrastructure and storage to support
these new trends, both for the business
community and for consumers, which
has driven innovation in how the
data can and should be protected.
Companies and individuals are
responsible for securing and protecting
all this data, and while great strides have
been made to ensure that information is
protected from external threats, it’s often
humans who continue to be the weakest
link in the security chain. Whether
through malicious intent or inadvertent
carelessness, even the most sophisticated
technology can be rendered useless if
sensitive information gets into the wrong
hands due to human error; so data
centre providers must take a multi-step
approach to security.
Colocation
In a recent survey, NaviSite found that
82 per cent of UK respondents are
either using or considering the use of
colocation this year, and 54 per cent said
security is a main consideration when
evaluating colocation services. If you
are looking to a third party provider
to host your data, it is essential to seek
absolute clarity on what measures of
security are in place at the logical and
physical level. World class data centres
have a number of sophisticated controls
to ensure systems remain protected,
including physical security controls like
cameras and biometric access systems
and may then offer managed services
to deliver logical controls at the network
level like firewalls, intrusion detection or
DoS mitigation.
At the OS level, operating systems
have become more secure and more
sophisticated anti-virus software is
now available, while threats at the
applications level can be mitigated in a
number of ways; for example, intelligent
web application firewalls can be
implemented. These are clever enough
to understand what the normal traffic
patterns are for an application and if
they encounter traffic patterns outside
the defined ‘normal’ parameters, the
firewall can automatically block the
problem traffic averting a problem
before it happens.
External Threats
Sitting on top of these tools and
systems are defined processes and
best-practice, including specific industry
compliance standards such as PCI,
HIPPA, FISMA, and others which
define broader measures to protect
data like ISO, SSAE16 and ISMS. But
despite development in tools, systems
and process, new threats continue to
emerge and organisations need to be
on alert to stay one step ahead of those
external threats. Much of the focus
on the human link in the data centre
security chain is on protecting networks
from outsiders, but the insider threat
continues to pose a significant risk.
‘Rogue insiders’ already have access to
systems and can often avoid tripping
alarms that might otherwise signal some
form of attack. In a 2014 Ponemon
Institute survey, 30 per cent of data
breaches were related to a negligent
employee or contractor i.e. human error.
Recognising the sources of these threats
is one thing, but it is quite another to be
able to deal with them. However, there
are several practical steps datacentre
managers can take to enable this. Many
data centre providers take advantage
of the new levels of sophistication in
algorithms for encryption, which can
provide another layer of protection,
should outsiders gain access to data.
However, appropriate measures need to
be in place in order to ensure that rogue
insiders do not get access to encryption
keys, which would invalidate even the
most sophisticated encryption systems.
As well as encrypting data for both
storage and transmission, it is important
to capture all the information about
data access attempts – both legal and
illegal. This allows privileged users to do
their jobs in a climate of transparency,
while also acting as a deterrent for
unauthorised access.
Multiple Checks
Even the [