28th April 2008

During last weeks Infosec exhibition, The Bunker providers of Ultra* Secure Data Centre and Managed Service, researched the systems security of those visiting their stand.  By carrying out basic research The Bunker was able to build a clearer understanding of the market place and highlight their offerings to visitors.

The research was broken into three broad areas; basic information regarding recipients current hosts including location and accreditations, a brief look at their technology and finally of the security consciousness of their employees.

The Bunker researched the physical location of where people currently store their systems and data. Nearly 60% of those interviewed still hold their data in London despite the constant threat of terrorist attack and the fact London is on a flood plain: however, almost a third of those interviewed had not considered London a flood risk

Bunker Director of Managed Services, Paul Lightfoot commented “As the only ISO 27001 accredited managed services organisation at the show we weren’t surprised that over 70% of respondents’ current hosts were not accredited in any way. What is worrying though is that by not being accredited how can a provider guarantee the standard of  protection they offer? Having ISO 27001 accreditation demonstrates to all involved that industry-respected best practices are used within an organisation, which is why we worked so hard to achieve this status”.

Three quarters of those interviewed implemented their current systems’ internally and the overwhelming majority of respondents carried out some form of testing on their systems although many of them said they were not tested as fully or as regularly as they would like them to be.

With the increasing use of Wifi, workers can gain access from almost anywhere making systems even more vulnerable, worryingly over half those interviewed felt that their current hosts knew what this deperimetrisation was and the risks involved with remote working. A quarter of all organisations interviewed said that neither they nor their hosting company carried out any form of security checking on their staff at any level.

Commenting on the results in general Bunker Director of Managed Services, Paul Lightfoot said “The research highlighted the worrying lack of security knowledge in organisations across the board, whether it be a small independent company or a major international company. We used the event as a means of informing people of the ever increasing need of security when hosting and managing systems”.

About The Bunker
The Bunker delivers secure managed hosting and data centre solutions from within Europe’s most secure data centre.

Our Data Centres, which are outside the M25 yet within easy reach of London, are ex-military Nuclear Bunkers purpose built to house the UK’s air defence systems. We run 24/7/365 and our NOC monitors systems both nationally and internationally and is staffed around the clock by system and network engineers and security staff.

Our technical leaders are recognised experts in security and cryptography, renowned for their work on Apache-SSL. The Bunker is ISO 27001 accredited. We use Open Source software where appropriate as we believe it can offer great benefits in security, stability and cost effectiveness. Through our in house networks team and via close working relationships with a number of selected network providers, we deliver a multi-homed, no single point of failure transit network between our sites and the Internet.
The Bunker works with over 120 clients, large and small. Our clients are Financial Services Organisations, Technology companies, local government and other regulated businesses that value a premium service built around security.

Our service is proactive, high quality, sometimes innovative, but always practical, responsive and secure. We never forget the enormous trust our clients vest in us. As an organisation we understand that our success relies upon our reputation and our reputation is earned by continuing to fulfil this trust and afford peace of mind.

The Bunker Protocol™
All Bunker-based applications are protected by The Bunker Protocol™, our proprietary, Ultra* Secure process framework that includes:

• Military-Grade Data Centres – in our underground bunker outside the M25 in Kent and our mirror facility in Newbury, both protected by integrated processes for physical, digital and human security
• Hardened Source™ – Our unique combination of open source and proprietary technologies built and integrated in-house from the source code up
• Tierless Support™ – no ‘first tier helpdesk’; tierless support – direct 24/7 access to qualified hands-on support teams