Overview
Data centers have become critical components in today’s interconnected distributed business environment. Hosting critical operations under one roof, they provide resilient and reliable continuous operations. In order to achieve this level of performance, they house sophisticated computer systems within a protected and environmentally controlled perimeter, with redundant power and communication connections. As the volume of data used by both governments and enterprises to carry on day-to-day business continues to grow, the use of data centers has increased for operational, technical, and economic reasons.
Today, information is a vital for business success. Safekeeping its confidentiality, integrity, and availability at all times is critically important. As a result, the security of data centers and the protection of the information they process have become paramount. Government organizations and businesses whose purpose and source of revenue depends on high-capacity data processing extensively use data centers in-house or externally operated by a third-party to host their business-critical applications.
While the security of a data center within a defined perimeter tends to be well analyzed, defined, and applied, the security of the interconnections to the outside business environment comes under less scrutiny. All too often, the security of the backbones interconnecting these centers is left to the customers or the carrier providing the data transport services.
This paper describes what data centers are, who is using them, how they play a key role in government and enterprise business operations, and why their security, including the security of their interconnections, is so critically important. As a premier developer and supplier of cryptographic network security technologies, Thales is uniquely positioned to help government and enterprise customers protect data center connections with innovative and cost-effective solutions that ensure the confidentiality of critical information assets.
About Thales
Thales is a leading international electronics and systems group, addressing Defense, Aerospace and Security markets worldwide. Thales's leading-edge technology is supported by 22,000 R&D engineers who offer a capability unmatched in Europe to develop and deploy field-proven mission-critical information systems. To this end, the group's civil and military businesses develop in parallel and share a common base of technologies to serve a single objective: the security of people, property and nations. The group builds its growth on its unique multi-domestic strategy based on trusted partnerships with national customers and market players, while leveraging its global expertise to support local technology and industrial development.
