Secure This

Lots of companies are security-conscious these days. But few have taken it to the level of Advanced Internet Technologies, a North Carolina-based Web-hosting concern that operates its facility much like a fort. The company, which manages Web sites for about 180,000 clients, has employees dressed all in black, barbed-wire fencing on the perimeter and a munitions closet within easy reach. While the company emphasized security before the events of Sept. 11, it sees it as an even bigger priority now, both for itself and for other Internet companies that oversee a client's intellectual property.

"We don't sit back and wait for anything to happen," says Curt Evans, chief of security at AIT, who used to monitor security on Air Force One while working for the U.S. Air Force. Indeed, any security breach at AIT is treated like a national offense, with alarms sounding and the facility entering a "lock-down" mode. The company's heavy-handed approach is a product of its upbringing -- the firm was started by a U.S. Army officer and is now 90%-staffed by former military personnel. While AIT uses its secure facility as a selling point, the gun-toting Mr. Evans admits that it doesn't always go over well with clients. "Some people are frightened, and some feel a little threatened," he says. But that's the price you need to pay for security, he adds.