http://www.nuclearelephant.com/papers/colo.html [Definitely a good read, it raises issues I've had for years about data-centers, even before 9-11 - WK] Jonathan A. Zdziarski jonathanat_private August 7, 2003 I've been yelling at people about this for years. I've spent a significant portion of the past ten years of my professional career working for and with corporations with large co-location facilities. Co-location facilities provide a cost effective data center solution for many companies, both small and large, enabling remote hosting of equipment in a climate controlled environment usually with several redundant high-speed connections to the Internet. These facilities are responsible for a significant percentage of electronic business performed in the United States and other countries. In having the privilege of working with a number of these facilities, I've also had the opportunity to witness the vulnerabilities that could give themselves over to terrorist activities. Prior to September 11 2001 , I was able to dismiss these fears with the thought that nobody would ever want to blow up the city block". Unfortunately today these vulnerabilities are both a valid and justifiable concern. Many co-location facilities are strategically placed in areas where a significant amount of business is occurring, major peering points, large corporate concentrations, and many general terrorist targets. Some facilities are within immediate proximity to targets such as the New York Stock Exchange, the CNN building, and the public and private networks that are responsible for the Internet as well as military and public service networks. What makes this combination of concealment and network connectivity even more dangerous is the ability for a coordinated effort to install at multiple locations over a period of weeks and detonate simultaneously, wreaking havoc to financial institutions, mainstream media, communications, and any other such targets vulnerable to such an attack. A single target among many, if taken out, could seriously cripple the Internet let alone the number of critical private networks sharing the same fiber. Due to the placement of such facilities, they are unfortunately an ideal target for terrorists to take advantage of. These facilities are one of only a few places where an individual is capable of introducing heavy, unchecked equipment, leaving it in or near a large public concentration of business, and is able to communicate remotely with the equipment from virtually anywhere in the world. These facilities, by nature, are usually built in areas where multiple power and telecommunication grids converge meaning the strike of a potential target could possibly take out power and all forms of telecommunications in a significantly large area for a prolongued period, leaving thousands without electricity, emergency services, and etcetera. Historically, these conditions frequently lead to a high rate of crime and possible loss of life. [...] - ISN is currently hosted by Attrition.org To unsubscribe email majordomoat_private with 'unsubscribe isn' in the BODY of the mail.
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