Are Artificial Intelligent Robots the Future of Data Center Security?

Security is one of the most crucial parts of managing a data center. Our world revolves around connectivity, data, and digital telecommunications. This is the reason why data center security should be important to everyone.

There have been many innovations when it comes to data center security, but one of the most attention-grabbing modernizations has been the announcement of data center security robots. Will security robots be the standard for data centers in the future? 

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Why Data Center Security Is Incredibly Important

As businesses grow, the need to store their important data in a separate facility becomes more essential. Companies that are looking for an off-site data center trust that all of its critical information will be protected from any outside threats, data breaches, or cyberattacks. Data centers are some of the most secure operations for many reasons.

Data centers have layered security measures. Any potential threats would need to go through several layers of security before successfully attaining any important information. Even if one layer of security is breached, the other layers would likely prevent a further breach. 

Video surveillance also plays a large role in data center security. Most data centers will have closed-circuit television cameras or CCTVs that keep an eye on every aspect of the data center. These CCTVs are normally digitally backed up and archived offsite to protect against corrupting. 

Data center operations usually have physical security staff on-premises to respond to potential threats. Security guards routinely patrol the premises to ensure that all operations are running smoothly and are secure. Although this has been harder for data center operations during the current pandemic. 

Data centers are quite the operation. Background checks are completed on everyone working within the data center from the security personnel to technicians. Data centers need to know who is coming in and out. And all current employees need multi-factor authentication to move from one area to another. Everyone needs two different forms of identification to move from one area to another. 

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What Are Some Recent Innovations in Data Center Security?

It may seem as though data center security uses old standards and procedures, but it’s more highly technical than it seems. Data centers also use some of the most state-of-the-art technology currently available to secure their operations. 

Biometric technology has been one of the security innovations that data centers have incorporated in their operations. Biometrics are biological measurements or physical characteristics that can identify specific individuals. Whether you know it or not, you might already be using biometric technology in your everyday life. Some examples of biometrics are facia recognition, fingerprint scanning, and retina scanning. All of these biometrics can be used to identify and the person is allowed access to certain parts of a data center and the data itself. 

Cybersecurity threats are a very real concern for data center operators and managers. And to analyze and prevent cyber-attacks requires specific expertise. It is also very time-consuming. The best way to prevent cyber-attacks is by anticipation and early detection. This is where the power of artificial intelligence helps cybersecurity. The analytic capability of artificial intelligence and machine learning can ascertain the difference between normal network behavior and something unusual. These abnormalities in the system usually stem from certain security threats. Artificial intelligence has played an important role in securing many data center operations.

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What Are Data Center Security Robots?

Some of the best technologies are going into keeping the world’s data secure. The use of biometric technology, artificial intelligence, and machine learning shows how critical security is for data centers. Both of these distinct technologies already make data centers seem futuristic—so what does the future of data center security look like?

The data center company, Switch, is looking to deploy an autonomous robot to help with security efforts. Named, SENTRY, this robot is a cutting-edge fully autonomous security system that can navigate on its own. It can also remotely track, record, and assess the environment around it in real-time. 

This data center security robot is a 250lb machine that has 360-degree cameras, heat sensors to scan visitors’ temperature and also check for Covid-19 symptoms. It is built to climb curbs and stairs, which allow it to monitor both inside the data center as well as the outside. It can also recognize a car’s license plate to know who may be in the building. 

Although the robot is fully autonomous, it can also be controlled by human controllers if needed. This data center security robot combines a lot of the best technology already being used by data center operations into an autonomous system. 

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Future Data Centers Will Be Automated 

The use of biometrics, artificial intelligence, and autonomous robots show that data centers are not only looking to use the best technologies in their operations, but it is also looking to be more dependable and efficient. Data centers are also looking into the idea of an unmanned fully automated operation.  

Data center automation is rapidly being more realistic. The amount of data the world is creating and consuming is astounding, and the energy that is used to create and store this data is also astonishing. An automated data center using the power of artificial intelligence and machine learning will improve how data centers use energy. It will also help with security. 

Another example of why data centers are trending towards automation is another AI-powered robot, Dac. This artificially intelligent robot can manage daily data center operations. It can recognize and repair any problems, it can fix water leaks in the cooling system, repair the electrical system, and more. The data center industry is on the brink of a fully automated operation. 

Conclusion

Data center security is one of the most important aspects of data center operations. Data centers are using the best technology to stay ahead of potential threats. Biometrics, artificial intelligence, and even advanced robotics are being used to secure the world’s data. These systems are also showing what the future of the data centers will be, and it looks to involve the use of innovative fully automated robots.