Use of Biometric Security at Data Centers

According to a recent press release, the data center security market is estimated to grow to an astounding $13.77 billion by 2018. Logical security options such as DNS and SSL are equally popular as compared to physical security options such as video surveillance and biometrics. Innovative organizations in this industry are now trying to adopt an integrated security approach to bundle the logical and physical security options.

Finger print authorization has made it to many data centers as a means of identification and also access control. This is the most mature of all biometric security techniques today.

Body odor biometrics is being experimented with by research labs. Body odor does vary with diet and mood, but there are also aspects of body odor that can be used for identification and recognition. Research gives an 85% success rate to body odor and hence its use in biometric security is now restricted, though gaining momentum in some areas.

Using eyes scans is a more popular technique for biometric identification. The secret behind this technology is to use blood vessels in the white of the eye for identification. Gartner predicts that 30% or organizations will use biometric authorization on mobile devices by 2016. This trend is especially applicable to mobile banking applications and also organizations that hold sensitive personal information.

Facial recognition is easier to use and has applications in marketing applications as well as by secret government agencies who track individuals without the use of warrants. However, this technique is not as popular in data centers due to the fact that it can be falsified by various methods and hence not the best in terms of secure authentication.

Palm scanning is the next technology coming into the picture, which is very much similar to iris scanning. The veins in a persons palm are scanned and compared to the data in a database as a means of providing secure authentication.

No matter which technique is used, in today’s world of cyber threats and risks, the use of biometrics is an option that many organizations are considering for securing their sensitive data. For more input on the best logical and physical security approaches for protecting data, get in touch with the security experts at Lifeline Data Centers today.

Alex Carroll

Managing Member at Lifeline Data Centers

Alex, co-owner, is responsible for all real estate, construction and mission critical facilities: hardened buildings, power systems, cooling systems, fire suppression, and environmentals. Alex also manages relationships with the telecommunications providers and has an extensive background in IT infrastructure support, database administration and software design and development. Alex architected Lifeline’s proprietary GRCA system and is hands-on every day in the data center.