Defending Data Centers from Drone Espionage and Attacks
Disrupting and destroying critical infrastructure has long been a tactic of hot and cold wars, terrorism and political activism. Sensitive locations – such as those used by the oil, gas and mining industries, alongside electricity and water supplies, roads, and military assets including bases and the impending nuclear-powered submarine shipyards Australia will build as part of the AUKUS agreement – are of incredible value, and spying, interrupting or damaging them is a priority for adversaries in any conflict.
The threat is only exacerbated in today’s era of greyzone warfare, in which drones or uncrewed aerial systems (UAS) feature prominently given they are cheap and can be purchased by anyone.
Data centers are a less talked about form of critical infrastructure that have become increasingly vulnerable to drone incursions and attacks given the sheer value of the almost insurmountable information they hold.
These attacks against data centers come in various forms. They can be targeted by spies and hackers attempting to land close enough, such as on the roof of the data center, to conduct remote hacking to steal data or conduct other means of cyber attacks – and this cyber-risk is the most commonly talked about method, and indeed a financial firm fell victim to exactly this.
But data centers can also be disrupted by payload-carrying drones intended to stop operations and impact the thousands of organizations relying on them, or at worst, fall victim to a terrorist attack of explosive or kamikaze attacks by swarms of drones aiming to destroy them, to cut off critical infrastructure that is data centers.
Counter-UAS for proactive data center defense
DroneShield can provide data center operators with world-leading counterdrone – or counter-UAS (C-UAS) – protection equipment that is able to detect, identify, and neutralize intruding drones effectively and efficiently.
With cutting-edge multi-sensor counterdrone sensors, DroneShield can detect incoming threats and alert operators in real-time while also gathering valuable data as evidence for use in legal proceedings. In some cases, it can track and report live location of the drone pilot for prosecution by law enforcement, via its DroneSentry-C2 software that can be installed at the security center’s operating room, and be carried by its security personnel on the go with DroneSentry-C2 Tactical tablets.
Through the use of DroneSentry-C2, operators can set up exclusion zones and thus maintain control over entire sites with ease, allowing the DroneShield system to then automatically apply C-UAS disruption and countermeasure capabilities without direct input from the user.
Fixed site and portable counterdrone solutions, such as the 360-degree view DroneSentry, DroneSentry-X and the wearable C-UAS RfPatrol, also allow operators to tailor defenses to specific locations and adapt DroneShield technology to suit their specific counterdrone needs.
To learn more about DroneShield for data center protection, visit https://www.droneshield.com/sectors/corporations.