CPTED Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design ( CPTED ) creates an environment around the data center to deter nefarious activity. CPTED lowers the likelihood to breach the perimeter of the data center, and increases the ability to detect breach attempts. A good description of the history of CPTED applied to urban planning is found here.…
Following my assertion that a data center is at its core, a risk management device, we have to bring in the CIA. We’re not talking about the Central Intelligence Agency. Nor are we talking about the Culinary Institute of America. The CIA that we’re talking about is the information security CIA Triad. CIA is an…
Ok, now what in the world is symmetric cryptography? ‘And I suppose that if there’s a “symmetric cryptography,” there must be an “asymmetric cryptography” as well, right? In the broadest of terms, we group cryptographic algorithms into two categories- symmetric and asymmetric. A sort of hybrid arrangement, using both at the same time is common…
The Green Grid has recently published its first white paper explaining the OSDA project. The white paper is available for TGG members here. OSDA is the brain child of my friend Lex Coors. It is intended to facilitate creativity and innovation in data center designs, especially when using alternative energy sources, reliable grids, and multi-site…
It all seems so random How good are you at predicting the outcome of rolling a die? ‘Probably not very good, and even with a single cubical die, any outcome has a one-in-six chance. While it’s frustrating to predict the outcome of simple dice rolls, we know that we can see a number repeat if…
Cryptography is the science of encrypting information The science of encrypting information is called cryptography. It is the method of storing and transmitting data in a form that only those for whom it is intended can read and process it. The desire to conceal information in communications is nearly as old as written language itself.…
In our review of cryptographic algorithms, we will add to our Message-Digest discussion with the SHA (pronounced “Shaw”) hashing algorithms. Remember from our previous post that hashing functions are not technically encryption algorithms. More correctly, they are a mathematical way of generating a “fingerprint” of some type of data element. They are an essential part…
In our review of cryptographic algorithms, we will start with the Message-Digest, MD5 hashing algorithm. This isn’t because MD5 is “the best” or even “the first” (it’s certainly neither of those). In fact, it’s not technically an encryption algorithm at all. It is important though, as a precursor to other encryption algorithms we will talk…
This week I’m on a five city in six days circuit through Austria, Germany, and the UK. It’s a crazy week of conference rooms, taxis, trains and planes. However, being in a fantastic cigar-bar city like Vienna, I decided to steal away a couple of hours to relax. If you’re not aware, Vienna is one…
What in the world is a DCEP, and why should I even care? The Data Center Energy Practitioner, or “DCEP, is an important certification for you to know about. This is especially true if you are involved with government data centers, or if you’re involved with reducing the cost of operations even if it’s not…