November 5, 2007 -- (WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) -- According to a report by The Register, a Chicago-based facility belonging to Web host C I Host (cihost.com) was broken into in October, leaving some customers shocked to discover that it was the fourth such break-in at the facility in the last several years.
In a letter to customers, C I Host said at least two masked intruders entered the facility after cutting into reinforced walls with a power saw. The company says a night manager was repeatedly tazered and that the intruders took at least 20 data servers.
Posts on Web hosting forum Webhostingtalk.com, claim the company was slow to inform customers of the real reason for their downtime, at first citing router failures. Last week several forum users met to discuss the launch of a class-action suit against the company, citing negligence in protecting their servers as the cause.
Like many Web hosting companies, C I Host uses the physical security of its sites as one of the selling points of its services in its marketing materials. The company's website describes security features that include "24/7 armed guards" and "24/7 Secured access with key swipe entry, biometric thumb print verifier and a double-locking man-trap at every door within the data center and on the exterior."
According to police reports, the Chicago facility targeted in the robbery has been the target of four burglaries or robberies since August 2005.
UPDATE: Comments on the incident from a C I Host representative have since been published here.
This is probably one of the most bizarre things I have ever heard of in the hosting industry! posted by: Cotton Rohrscheib | November 05, 2007 12:49PM
I totally agree with you on this one Cotton. How could this happen and so often? posted by: Roger Berret | November 05, 2007 12:52PM
Obviously someone has it in for them. Years ago I was with a company that made expensive blue jeans with one of the major names. UPS trucks leaving our facility were targeted, followed (sometimes for miles) and packages stolen out of them when the driver stopped. UPS eventually used trucks dedicated to us.
Our walls were drilled through at least once or twice a year. And because of the internal structure of the building the thieves didn't often cause our motion detectors to go off.
And our armed guard wasn't every place at once.
These things really do happen.
posted by: NoBaloney | November 05, 2007 01:45PM
Some times you have to pay the security bill in order to have a security guard in the building. This way when the alarm goes off you have some one onsite to respond. Not wait for the Chicago Police to get to the empty 24/7 secure data center. posted by: unixbox | November 14, 2007 11:07AM
