The range of threats impacting business data is diverse, but while substantial attention gets paid to protecting systems from hackers, the actual infrastructure that houses sensitive information can be an attack vector as well. Companies have grown increasingly aware of the threats posed by a physical intruder in the data center, and certain best practices have emerged around physical security as a result. Leading enterprise data centers and colocation facilities use solutions such as surveillance, security checks, hardened exteriors and mantraps to protect themselves from these threats.

"Companies spend multi-millions of dollars on network security," Enterprise Storage Forum contributor Christine Taylor wrote in a recent article. "Yet if an attacker, disaster, or energy shortage takes down your data center then what was it all for? Don't leave your data center gaping open, and make very sure that your data center provider isn't either."

Limiting physical access by outsiders to the data center is key, as it is a sensitive environment that can be easily sabotaged – either knowingly or unknowingly. One initial protection many data centers use is to have a hardened exterior with extra thick walls and windows (as well as no windows in the server room), Taylor wrote. This precaution helps protect against both physical attacks such as explosives and natural disasters. Similar protections might include crash barriers or landscaping features around the data center to help hide it and protect it from an event like a car crash, for instance.

Security checks and mantraps
Another basic security practice is to use 24/7 surveillance with cameras that move and cover the entire premises, ideally backed by an on-premise security guard. During business hours, security guards can also perform security checks on visitors. In a recent column for TechRepublic, contributor Michael Kassner described a visit to an enterprise data center for which he was required to show two forms of ID and turn over his electronic devices to prevent him from taking pictures.

He then faced some internal physical barriers in the form of a turnstile and mantraps, which are essentially airlocks designed to prevent more than one person from passing through a door at once. The ones Kassner encountered had sensitive weight scales to detect if more than one person was coming through, as well as if that person had carried something in and not out or vice versa. Mantraps and turnstiles prevent tailgating, or the practice of following an approved employee through a secure entrance.

As companies make data center decisions, choosing a provider that can offer these robust solutions for protecting physical infrastructure is essential. Just as businesses need to secure their digital perimeter, they should look to achieve best practices for locking down their physical perimeter as well.