Data centres are going to be classified as critical national infrastructure by the UK Government, which means they will be in the same group as emergency services, finance, healthcare, energy and water.
This classification will ensure that data centres receive more government protection than before in the event of a major incident, such as a cyber-attack, IT failure, or severe weather, to prevent the disruption of vital services.
Massive facilities full of vast arrays of computers and data centres provide the processing power for many things we take for granted in our modern lives, from AI to streaming to data processing. However, the amount of energy and water such facilities consume has caused criticism. Nonetheless, the Labour Government is very supportive of the sector. Technology secretary Peter Kyle states that data centres are “the engines of modern life,” and their operations must not be hindered.
As reported by BBC, the UK Government recently added data centres to a list of 14 sectors classified as critical national infrastructure. This list is being updated for the first time in nine years. The consultation process for this change began in late 2023 under the previous Government. A dedicated team of officials will be established to monitor threats and address potential risks to data centres. For example, Crowdstrike’s recent cybersecurity update caused global service disruptions, highlighting the importance of such vigilance.
The Government does not plan to introduce new regulations or ramp up scrutiny of existing contingency plans for data centres. Welcoming that decision, Professor Alan Woodward from Surrey University, who specialises in cybersecurity, said that although people think of cloud services as virtual, they are heavily dependent on physical servers housed in data centres.
The growing need for AI-based services is driving the increase in data centre requirements. Major technology businesses are making huge expenditures in response to this demand. Amazon Web Services, for example, has pledged an £8 billion investment in new UK data centres. Microsoft and Google, on the other hand, are also constructing their own facilities in the nation.
However, data centres have raised environmental concerns due to their high energy consumption and water use for cooling. According to the National Grid, electricity consumption from data centres in the UK could increase sixfold over the next decade. Local opposition has also risen, with a proposal in Buckinghamshire being refused due to environmental concerns.
Nevertheless, the industry remains optimistic. Bruce Owen from Equinix, a large data centre operator, welcomes the signals the Government has been giving and is confident that there is space for future investments and data centres to be built in the UK.
(Photo by simon frederick)
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