A Year Ago: Net firm seeks nuclear bunker...

Will Knight ZDNet.co.uk

Published: 31 May 2001 06:28 BST

First published: 11:33 Wed 31 May 2000

British Internet companies are increasingly turning to complexes capable of withstanding a nuclear onslaught in the battle against computer hackers and other threats, according to one security consultant.

Nuclear bunkers might sound excessive but, says Ian Johnston-Bryden, consultant with Firetrench Security, they are the ideal security solution.

Johnston-Bryden says that these facilities not only provide unparalleled physical protection -- a site that his company is co-developing in Kent can withstand a near miss from a tactical nuclear weapon -- but also come with an abundance of power and connectivity. Many have backup generators as well as a back-up satellite link.

"What you want is maximum uptime, tremendous security and plenty of resilience," says Johnston-Bryden.

Johnston-Bryden adds that with an increasing number of techno-savy criminals and political extremists, a bomb-proof facility might not be such a ridiculous idea.

"What if you're running a web site selling fur coats or pharmaceuticals?" he says. "You're vulnerable to threats like these."

The bunkers, says Johnston-Bryden, are particularly relevant in the era of "co-location" hosting, or running multiple Web sites from the same place.

"You wouldn't build one from scratch, because of the cost," he adds. "But there are around 20 or 30 nuclear bunkers that are being used or hoping to be used for hosting and the MOD is disposing of a chunk more over the next few years."

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