Biometric security for the EvoSwitch data center

Posted on: 10-07-2007

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EvoSwitch, the Dutch carrier-neutral datacenter that operates climate-neutral (carbon neutral), has secured its datacenter in Haarlem with biometric access control. Using a face and finger scan provided by Secure Access Road (SAR B.V.) it will now be possible to identify visitors with a 100 percent accuracy guarantee.

Datacenters contain sensitive and sometimes business-critical information. As a customer, you want to be sure that this information cannot be accessed by others. However, access security at datacenters is not always adequate. “Visitors usually register via a website and fill in an A4 sheet with personal details when they arrive at a datacenter,” says Laurens Rosenthal, innovation director at EvoSwitch. “After that, they are allowed into the datacenter with an individual access pass. That’s not really secure. For someone with bad intentions, access security like that is a gift from the gods.” EvoSwitch wants to provide customers with the security they expect with regard to the management of their data. Which is why EvoSwitch has had SAR’s biometric access control products implemented.

Face scan, finger scan and passport scan
SAR has developed a solution for EvoSwitch in which a biometry unit, together with several terminals for fingerprint recognition (the SAGEM MA100), is connected to the EvoSwitch reservation system. A visitor to the datacenter can make a reservation on the EvoSwitch website, after which he will receive a reservation code by e-mail or text message.

When he arrives at the datacenter, the visitor can report to the biometric unit and use the touch screen to enter his code. The unit will then register his arrival, identify him and verify his identity using face and finger scans and a passport check. All of this is double-checked by a security employee. Only then can the visitor enter the datacenter. Placing a finger on the terminal at the entrance unlocks the turnstile and allows him access to the datacenter. Once he has completed his work at the datacenter, he must once again place his finger on the MA100 in order to leave the datacenter.

Demand for biometry growing
SAR B.V. started supplying solutions for biometric access control six years ago. “They were pretty far advanced with this in other countries at the time,” says Henk Attema, Managing Director of SAR. “In Holland we were a bit slow with regard to acceptance of biometry, but now we see that more and more companies are interested in it. For us, the basis of the solution is always the biometric unit and its terminals for scanning fingerprints. Around this, we can also develop other security solutions and also write custom software applications for them. For example, EvoSwitch also wanted to have a passport scan, and we developed one for them.”

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