Data Centres as Critical as National Grid and Water Systems, Says Government

The government has classified data centres as Critical National Infrastructure (CNI), putting them on a par with the National Grid and the defence sector. By making them part of the UK’s CNI, data centres will receive greater government support in the event of critical incidents, such as cyber attacks, IT blackouts, adverse weather conditions, and other disasters. Data centres are the buildings which store the data generated in the UK, and can include information ranging from a person’s pictures on their mobile phone to NHS patients’ records and other sensitive information. With this designation—which covers both the physical data centres and cloud operators that use them, like Microsoft Azure—the industry will have a dedicated CNI data infrastructure team of government officials who will monitor for potential threats and will provide access to agencies like the National Cyber Security Centre....