DataCentre Intrusion Detection

Harper Chalice has been specified to secure an extremely complex data centre site for one of the UK’s largest Telecoms and Internet Service Providers (ISPs). Following a competitive tender, our partners Jacksons Fencing were selected to complete the project and promptly proposed the Harper Chalice range of detection systems.

The facility hosts state of the art technology that must be adequately protected against present day threats including activism, sabotage, trespass and terrorism. Data centres are classed as critical infrastructure due to the fact that a breach can have severe consequences on public safety and service availability, both of which may have serious national security implications. As part of a comprehensive security plan that encompasses cyber and physical threats, an extensive high security perimeter was required to provide the required level of protection.

A team of experts from Jacksons Fencing were tasked with providing design support and project management to ensure that the 20,000m2 facility was adequately fortified. However, there were a few challenging aspects to contend with including conservational and topographic.

The main concern was that of Great crested newts, a European protected species whose habitat is local to the area. As the animals and their eggs, breeding sites and resting places are protected by law, planning permission was required before any work could take place. Another issue for the installation teams was the uneven landscape with pronounced natural contours which required a full ground scan to assess the location of critical power supplies.

The on-site project team addressed all the challenges and installed a unique solution that met the stringent security requirements. Jacksons’ Securi-Mesh fencing, incorporating standalone FenceSecure Perimeter Intrusion Detection System (PIDS) and Securi-Mesh gates were specified to protect the facility. The combination of physical and electronic security now provides the site perimeter with an extra layer of security that integrates with CCTV and other remote monitoring technologies to provide a complete solution.

The Harper Chalice FenceSecure, Microphonic Detection systems provided the first line of defence against any perimeter attack. Attached to the fence fabric the system is able to ‘listen’ to the fence for any attempts to cut or climb the fence and provide an early warning of the intrusion.

The FenceSecure system is approved by CPNI for high security applications providing the highest levels of detection and protection to the perimeter of the site. However, it is the flexibility and durability of the FenceSecure system which provided the maximum benefit to the project, allowing the system to be installed easily and quickly to get the site perimeter protected as quickly as possible.

The latest generation of FenceSecure system also allows complete software control and monitoring from the central location via a simple to use touchscreen interface, making operation and monitoring of the complete system very simple and easy for the security on site.

Designing an effective security plan requires an understanding of the various risks, potential threats, environmental concerns and topography of a given site. Once potential security threats have been identified and assessed, it is important that the right products are specified and installed correctly taking into account legislative and operational requirements.