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Telecom industry tightens info access during terrorism threat
By The Asociated Press

   With the Bush administration issuing predictions of future terrorist attacks, the data center industry continues to work toward hardening America's telecommunications infrastructure.

   But industry leaders have different perspectives about what kind of threats are most likely and how to best defend against them.

   The Sept. 11 attacks in New York and Washington left the industry nervous about the potential for future attacks in which data centers might be targets, as well as the front line of defense for vital national assets.

   In the weeks following the attacks, most data centers redoubled their efforts to secure their facilities, tightening policies on physical access and employee screening.

   "I think everyone, in the aftermath of 9-11, has looked at the security issue on multiple levels," said Art Zeile, CEO of Inflow Inc., which operates a chain of 14 data centers.

   "Anything like (Sept. 11) has you get the dust off your plan," agreed Tom Payne, senior manager of network planning for AFN Communications.

   The attacks also raised the broader question of whether mission-critical facilities should be engineered to withstand the traditional list of natural disasters, or "super-terrorist" attacks such as the use of passenger jets as flying bombs.

   Ultra-secure data fortresses have captured the public's imagination in recent months, touting extraordinary physical infrastructure in locations such as mines and former missile silos.

   But some data center executives say the quickest path to a stronger telecom infrastructure is for providers to do a better job defending against known risks, rather than investing heavily to protect against super-terrorist scenarios.

   "The chances of another attack affecting your building are very small," said Jon Harris, president of Excalibur Internet. "But you have to plan for an earthquake."

   "Our biggest threat is not physical security," said Zeile. "There was this time when folks were putting Kevlar in the walls of data centers. The biggest threat to a data center is electronic."