Datacentres granted critical national infrastructure status

Following the major IT outages caused by CrowdStrike, technology secretary Peter Kyle has announced the government is now classifying UK datacentres as critical national infrastructure (CNI).

According to the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), putting datacentres on an equal footing to water, energy and emergency services systems will mean the datacentre sector can now expect greater government support in recovering from and anticipating critical incidents.

This will involve having a dedicated CNI data infrastructure team of senior government officials that will monitor and anticipate potential threats, provide prioritised access to security agencies including the National Cyber Security Centre, and coordinate access to emergency services should an incident occur.

According to DSIT, CNI status will also deter cyber criminals from targeting datacentres that may house vital health and financial data, minimising disruption to people’s lives, the NHS and the economy.

For instance, in the event of an attack on NHS datacentre facilities, DSIT said the government would intervene to ensure contingencies are in place to mitigate the risk of damage to essential services, including on patients’ appointments or operations.

“Datacentres are the engines of modern life,” said Kyle. “They power the digital economy and keep our most personal information safe.

“Bringing datacentres into the critical national infrastructure regime will allow better coordination and cooperation with the government against cyber criminals and unexpected events.”

DSIT said the protections would also boost business confidence in investing in datacentres in the country.

For instance, DC01UK has submitted a proposal for a £3.75bn datacentre build in Hertfordshire, which would make it Europe’s largest datacentre. The project is set to create over 700 local jobs, and support 13,740 data and tech jobs across the country.

Earlier in the summer, DSIT announced its intention to introduce the Cyber Security and Resilience Bill, and strengthen the country’s cyber defences by mandating that providers of essential infrastructure protect their supply chains from attacks.

As part of its manifesto pledge, Labour pledged to remove the planning barriers that have halted datacentre developments.

In his maiden speech to Parliament on 3 September, Kyle spoke about the government’s ambitions to build a smarter state that relies on fast digital infrastructure ranging from “datacentres powering cutting-edge AI to the broadband connections creating opportunities for all our communities”.

Commenting on the classification of datacentres as critical national infrastructure, Matthew Evans, chief operating officer at TechUK, said: “Datacentres are fundamental to our digitising economy and are a key driver of growth. We look forward to collaborating closely with the government and our stakeholders to ensure the successful implementation of these new measures and their impact on the sector.

“Continued engagement and partnership will be key in advancing our shared objectives of a secure, resilient and thriving digital economy,” he said.