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Amazon Pitches The Security Of Its Cloud

Amazon Web Services, in an effort to foster faith in the security of its infrastructure, on Thursday published a white paper about its security processes.

While AWS's cloud computing infrastructure was clouded by a significant outage over the summer, it's clear that the steps the company takes to protect its customers' data exceed what a small startup might be able to accomplish on its own. Draping collapsed 22-year-old coders around your production server during the night just doesn't qualify as diligent security.

AWS, on the other hand, appears to be seriously committed to keeping its facilities safe.

"AWS data centers are housed in nondescript facilities, and critical facilities have extensive setback and military grade perimeter control berms as well as other natural boundary protection," Amazon's white paper explains.

If the purpose of building "nondescript facilities" is to escape notice, one would think that the presence of something as eye-catching as "military grade perimeter control berms" undermines any attempt at architectural stealth.

Still, it's nice to know that AWS data centers are defended against vehicles because you really don't want cars careering into server stacks.

At AWS data centers, physical access is controlled at the perimeter and building entrance by security professions using video, intrusion detection systems, and "other electronic means." You may be tempted to believe that's a reference to a Pleo in watchdog mode, but AWS almost certainly has deployed something more formidable.

Gort, maybe?

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