Data is precious for people, companies, and countries, so much so that some consider it the "oil of digital economy." Data centers, then, require strong protection. Data center physical security is critical as any breach could result in potentially massive losses to the owners. Data center security standards and compliance with them is more critical now than ever.

But how exactly do you protect a space that holds so many high-value assets? This article explores data center security threats, challenges, and best practices.

What are the major data center physical security threats?

Data centers typically have a considerable number of physical security devices in a small space or area, which can be challenging for security leaders to manage. Unfortunately, the same priority that a customer may give to sites like office spaces wouldn't be enough for data center protection.

1. The "set it and forget it" approach

Ryan Schonfeld, Founder & CEO of RAS Watch, explains that many data centers are guilty of adopting a "set it and forget it" mindset when establishing a facility. This gives an appearance of strong security but allows the software to become outdated with no one dedicated to monitoring them.

"As more and more companies shift to remote work and the storage of critical data via the cloud — and consequently, toward these data centers — the need for these facilities is not shrinking, it's growing, which means protecting them becomes even more important," Schonfeld said. "Even more importantly, the focus for these facilities has primarily been on protecting the data stored, 

monitoring for outages or abnormal activity, which means physical security programs have taken a back seat. But arguably, the protection of the facility itself is just as important as ensuring the data is safe from outside threats."

2. Physical threat through cyber exploits

Jammy DeSousa, Product Manager at Johnson Controls, points out the primary data center security threat now is a cross-stream of physical, logical, and network security. The first attack vector for a physical attack could now be through a cybersecurity attack or a security vulnerability exploit.

3. Data center protection from insider threats

Another prevalent issue that data center security issue is insider threats, meaning data theft from within. Nigel Waterton, CRO of Arcules, says that they have seen very high-profile thefts of data in recent years as cybersecurity breaches continue to be a threat, involving both internal and external actors.

"Another threat is the location of the facility, whether it's in a highly trafficked, industrial area or in a more remote location without a lot of activity around it — both require a certain level of technical expertise to address threats to physical security in real-time," Waterton added.