Inside the manageNET ASIO T4 data centre

High-tech security

The data centre was one of the first to gain ASIO T4 security status in Australia – a certification that manageNET has maintained for both the centre and its operations staff.

Security status has helped them win some big deals, according to Dalamangas.

“We’ve all passed ASVS background checks and the centre has Highly Protected status,” said Dalamangas.

“In 2007, that allowed us to win a contract with Thales Australia around the APEC Summit. They were looking for a T4 site in NSW as part of a year-long colocation and managed security services engagement, and we bid successfully for that piece of work.

He continued: “We have three suites within the data centre that are also T4 certified. They’re good for customers who like privacy or want to run specific application hosting requirements.”

One of the reasons the centre was built to the ASIO T4 standard in the first place is because it originally housed some of the public key infrastructure (PKI) equipment behind early iterations of the Federal Government’s Gatekeeper framework.

The framework was designed to make PKI less complex and more cost effective for businesses and government agencies.

“The site was used as part of a blueprint for the Gatekeeper standard,” said Dalamangas.

In fact, the centre has always maintained ties with the IT security sector. It was previously also owned by Betrusted.

The data centre’s high security background was a perfect fit for manageNET. When it formed back in 2003, it focused on managed security services, such as firewall and unified threat management, using technologies from the likes of Fortinet and Sonicwall.

The company has since expanded into other areas from a data centre perspective, notably PCI DSS compliant hosting, a selected colo offering and a virtual hosted platform. The latter is built with VMware ESX running on Dell servers and storage, Nortel switches and an Overland tape library.

“ASIO T4 is primarily about physical security,” said Dalamangas.

“We also have security enshrined in the procedural and technology aspects of the data centre, such as sign-in and escorting of customers and third parties within the facility, iris and biometric scanners on entry doors, magnetic locks, electronic surveillance and laser detection, and equipment protection.