Maximum Security

Forty years ago when the Air Force built a four-story concrete bunker near this city, it was designed to deflect nearly any attack — including a nuclear bomb blast a quarter-mile away.

Today, the Washington state company owning the bunker hopes to turn it into the world’s foremost data security center.

In a world increasingly reliant on electronic information flowing easily around the globe and the ability to store it safely, companies like Titan hope to profit by offering data protection from intruders or accidental destruction.

“If data is the lifeblood of the digital economy, we want to be its backup life-support system,” said Putnam Pierman, the man who bought the bunker in 1993 and now serves as Titan’s chief executive.

The 166,000-square-foot building, with 3-foot-thick concrete walls and just one tiny window, was built as the Western command center for the Strategic Air Command.

The military abandoned it in the 1960s, and the building has had minimal industrial use until Pierman purchased it for $249,000.

Pierman’s initial plan was for Titan’s bunker to house sensitive corporate documents, backup tapes or microfiche. Early Titan customers included several Japanese companies that saw Eastern Washington’s flat, sparsely populated “X-files” terrain as an ideal storage area.

“The Japanese are constantly aware of living on an active earthquake zone. We offer them just the opposite, a location hundreds of miles away from the nearest earthquake zone,” added Pierman.

As Internet commerce took hold, Titan saw a whole new business opportunity — protecting the corporate communications hardware and data that pump information between customers and other businesses.

After gaining access to high-speed fiber-optic networks earlier this year, Titan has landed one major e-commerce customer - Micron PC of Boise. Pierman said other customers are using the security at Titan, “but we’re not allowed to tell you who they are.”

Titan has plenty of competition in the data network-security industry. Several companies, such as Exodus, Qwest and ArcStar, tout their ability to safeguard company information and protect computer networks from disruptions or hackers.

“This is a critical area of concern,” said Bill Burns, vice president of data center development for Micron PC’s “e-services” subsidiary.

That interest is fueled partly by the recent denial-of-service attacks on key U.S. Web sites like CNN and eBay. But Burns said key corporations have realized that extra care in managing and protecting sensitive data is now a standard business practice.

Companies face two levels of data concern, said Burns. The first is protection of the data from physical harm. That ranges from vandalism and unauthorized access to computer data to disruptions caused by earthquakes, fires or floods.

The second level is protection of the network data from intrusion and electronic disruption.

Both levels are important, Burns said.

To many in the network-security business, Titan offers a high level of physical protection.

It’s not so clear that the company has any special advantage in the second area of network security, said intrusion expert David Bailey of Albuquerque.

“The reason is that it’s simpler to offer physical protection. You create walls and barriers and locks,” said Bailey. “But it’s not so simple to establish fool-proof barriers against electronic damage.”

Even so, Micron PC selected Titan for basing its 6,000-square-foot security center for its most security-minded customers.

Burns said he did an audit of facilities around the West Coast to determine which building provided the utmost physical security.

“Titan came up first on the standards we used for measuring physical security,” he said.

Micron PC will have a staff of about seven technicians in a suite of rooms inside the Titan plant. Some of their computers will back up Micron’s own important business data. Other parts of the operation will back up critical computer information for customers who hire Micron to manage their e-commerce Web sites.

Titan says it does exactly what Micron PC does - give companies two choices for network backup. Companies may install computers in the Titan site as primary Web servers to conduct business, or they can install computers there as backups to systems operating elsewhere.

If an earthquake in Los Angeles knocked out Citibank’s primary e-commerce network, a backup switch would keep its data flowing across the Web, if it used Titan.

In Internet terms, that type of fail-safe system is said to have “redundant and diverse connectivity.” In plain talk, that means there are several systems operating at the same time, ready to take over if one crashes.

But not every company sees the Titan option as the optimal solution to network security.

Washington Trust Bank, for instance, entrusts management and protection of all its data to Milwaukee-based M and I Services.

Rather than place its data in a building where an assortment of companies are all housed - all with different needs and security issues - Washington Trust prefers using a Milwaukee company that specializes primarily in managing networks for financial institutions.

“We’d prefer using a company, someone like M and I, who has special knowledge and expertise in this area,” said Rick Boutz, Washington Trust’s chief financial officer.

But most technology officers agree that few data storage centers or net security buildings match the imposing presence felt at Titan.

Visitors are halted by tall wire fences surrounding the seven-acre complex.

Video cameras inside and outside track all movement. Entry must be authorized both by user passcode and by fingerprint-recognition locks.

Titan has an adjoining power building equipped with two diesel generators. If a major power failure occurred, the plant could survive and operate normally for nearly a week, said security specialist Lee Willis.

Burns said Titan’s military heritage helps sell itself to security-sensitive customers.

“I spent years in the military as a submarine officer. When I visited the Titan site, it reminded me of military control and hierarchy,” Burns said.

“It felt very medicinal”

Pierman and his son, G.J. Pierman, say their goal is to also offer customers the same level of electronic security as the building’s physical features provide.

Customers can install their own set of network-protection tools, or Titan will arrange to provide that as a value-added service, said G.J. Pierman, Titan’s chief operating officer.

Each company selects the level of security it feels comfortable with.

In Micron PC’s case, Burns said, the company chose to install its own fiber-optic lines into the Titan building. Micron had the choice of using Titan’s network, but it wanted an extra level of protection, Burns said.

One of the Micron feeds comes from Seattle; the other from Spokane.

The only way the Micron backup system would be shut down, he added, “is if some significant electronic damage occurs both in Spokane and Seattle at the same time.”

Micron PC is the only customer at Titan’s facility talking publicly about using the building.

“When you have this high level of security, you add no value to your company if you keep it a secret,” said Burns.

The Piermans said confidentiality agreements prevent them from disclosing the names of other customers at the Titan site.

But they’ve had enough interest so far to encourage fairly rapid expansion for the company. They plan to open a similar security site on the East Coast later this year, also in a converted military building.

Others are on the drawing boards in Europe, Japan, South America and Australia.

Customer rates are also confidential, he added. They vary according to level of services. The simplest option would be simple storage of inactive computer data and would cost a few thousand dollars a year.

Those running a live or backed-up computer network would be at the opposite end of the scale. Upper-tier costs could run several hundred thousand dollars a year.

“Our rates are generally lower than many others providing these services, except that we provide that extra level of extreme protection,” said G.J. Pierman.

The Piermans expect to broaden the company’s marketing through a Web page and focused advertising.

But they won’t be passing around their customer list, hoping to raise eyebrows.

“We have some world-class companies, household names you’d recognize,” said Putnam Pierman. “But all we’ll say right now is they don’t want anyone to know whether or not they’re using our services.”