Following yesterday’s breaking news that the UK government has deemed the country’s data centres to be Critical National Infrastructure, the industry has been swift to react. Here’s a full round-up of the most significant remarks.
– Mark Yeeles, Vice President, Secure Power Division, Schneider Electric UK&I, says, “Today’s news from the Government marks an important and positive step forward for the UK digital infrastructure sector and is further vindication that data centres have become an indispensable fourth utility. As adoption of AI technologies further accelerates the industry’s growth, it’s now vital that we prioritise sustainable practices, and double down on efforts to improve operational and energy efficiencies.
“I for one believe that this is an opportune moment for data centres to act as good corporate citizens, setting the wheels in motion to build a greener future powered by data, digitalisation and renewable energy. As an industry, we have a significant opportunity to move from consumer to prosumer by combining digital infrastructure with buildings, renewable energy and the grid – and one which will reduce our environmental impact, collectively.”
– Andrew Tipping, Data Centre Director at Zayo Europe, comments, “Network resiliency is now a necessity rather than a luxury, and the government is right to classify data centres as critical national infrastructure. However, it’s equally important to recognise the role that the rest of our network infrastructure plays.
“Data centre locations rely on network infrastructure, both terrestrial and subsea, to connect to each other and to the internet. Navigating disruptions, such as those experienced during the Olympics or recent cyber incidents like Crowdstrike, relies heavily on the security of this underlying infrastructure. It’s important that the government, infrastructure providers and data centre operators work together so that all elements of this critical national infrastructure function reliably. This will enable critical organisations, such as the NHS, rail networks and finance systems, to continue to operate smoothly.”
– Dame Dawn Childs, CEO of Pure DC, notes, “We welcome the government’s decision to classify data centres as critical national infrastructure and look forward to working with the relevant agencies. This significant step underscores the vital role our facilities play in our digital economy and national security.
“The data centre industry works incredibly hard to provide and maintain the digital infrastructure which powers and supports all our lives. Reliability and security are always at the forefront of what we do. To get the official recognition and support that we are a vital part of UK infrastructure feels like a very important milestone. At Pure Data Centres, we fully support this initiative and are committed to working closely with all stakeholders to strengthen our nation’s digital infrastructure. We hope the new status will encourage all stakeholders to come together to enable smoother planning and delivery of new data centres.”
– Nick Smith, Business Development Manager at Genetec, states, “The UK’s data centres are an undisputed success story. Collectively they underpin a digital economy that contributes to over 16% of domestic output, 10% of employment and 24% of total UK exports. We therefore welcome the Government’s decision to classify data centres as critical national infrastructure.
“Physical and cybersecurity are just two sides of the same coin as every critical online service relies on some form of physical infrastructure. In the majority of cases this can most securely be housed in a purpose-built data centre. It is pivotal that at a time of increased risk, physical and cyber vulnerabilities are addressed in a single unified plan.”
– Mark Pestridge, Executive Vice President & General Manager for Telehouse Europe, observes, “We welcome the government’s decision to recognise the critical importance of our sector by designating data centres as Critical National Infrastructure. This move is a vital step in ensuring that the UK’s digital backbone is protected from emerging threats and unforeseen incidents, reinforcing confidence in the security and resilience of the nation’s data infrastructure.
“The increased government support and prioritised access to security agencies will be instrumental in safeguarding the vast amounts of personal, financial, and health data that power our economy and daily lives.”
– Camellia Chan, CEO and Co-Founder, Flexxon, adds, “Vast amounts of information are stored and managed in data centres, so it’s about time the UK government declared them a critical national infrastructure. This is especially important since the presence of such huge amounts of data – which is increasing with the rise in data-hungry applications like AI – is a massive motive for cybercriminals. The effects on business operations and continuity, as well as the financial losses of a cyber attack can be devastating – in 2023, the average cost of a data breach was $4.45 million.
Data centres cannot afford to rely solely on traditional software security such as firewalls and VPNs. These reactive, static and human-centric methods can be too easily manipulated, exploited by Zero Day attackers or weakened by human error. To ensure security across the entire attack life cycle, a holistic approach that detects cyber threats, responds to them and can recover data in the unfortunate event of an attack is necessary. To do so you need a combination of software and hardware solutions that incorporate self-learning AI.”
The post Industry reacts to Critical National Infrastructure designation appeared first on Data Centre & Network News.
Following yesterday’s breaking news that the UK government has deemed the country’s data centres to be Critical National Infrastructure, the industry has been swift to react. Here’s a full round-up of the most significant remarks.
– Mark Yeeles, Vice President, Secure Power Division, Schneider Electric UK&I, says, “Today’s news from the Government marks an important and positive step forward for the UK digital infrastructure sector and is further vindication that data centres have become an indispensable fourth utility. As adoption of AI technologies further accelerates the industry’s growth, it’s now vital that we prioritise sustainable practices, and double down on efforts to improve operational and energy efficiencies.
“I for one believe that this is an opportune moment for data centres to act as good corporate citizens, setting the wheels in motion to build a greener future powered by data, digitalisation and renewable energy. As an industry, we have a significant opportunity to move from consumer to prosumer by combining digital infrastructure with buildings, renewable energy and the grid – and one which will reduce our environmental impact, collectively.”
– Andrew Tipping, Data Centre Director at Zayo Europe, comments, “Network resiliency is now a necessity rather than a luxury, and the government is right to classify data centres as critical national infrastructure. However, it’s equally important to recognise the role that the rest of our network infrastructure plays.
“Data centre locations rely on network infrastructure, both terrestrial and subsea, to connect to each other and to the internet. Navigating disruptions, such as those experienced during the Olympics or recent cyber incidents like Crowdstrike, relies heavily on the security of this underlying infrastructure. It’s important that the government, infrastructure providers and data centre operators work together so that all elements of this critical national infrastructure function reliably. This will enable critical organisations, such as the NHS, rail networks and finance systems, to continue to operate smoothly.”
– Dame Dawn Childs, CEO of Pure DC, notes, “We welcome the government’s decision to classify data centres as critical national infrastructure and look forward to working with the relevant agencies. This significant step underscores the vital role our facilities play in our digital economy and national security.
“The data centre industry works incredibly hard to provide and maintain the digital infrastructure which powers and supports all our lives. Reliability and security are always at the forefront of what we do. To get the official recognition and support that we are a vital part of UK infrastructure feels like a very important milestone. At Pure Data Centres, we fully support this initiative and are committed to working closely with all stakeholders to strengthen our nation’s digital infrastructure. We hope the new status will encourage all stakeholders to come together to enable smoother planning and delivery of new data centres.”
– Nick Smith, Business Development Manager at Genetec, states, “The UK’s data centres are an undisputed success story. Collectively they underpin a digital economy that contributes to over 16% of domestic output, 10% of employment and 24% of total UK exports. We therefore welcome the Government’s decision to classify data centres as critical national infrastructure.
“Physical and cybersecurity are just two sides of the same coin as every critical online service relies on some form of physical infrastructure. In the majority of cases this can most securely be housed in a purpose-built data centre. It is pivotal that at a time of increased risk, physical and cyber vulnerabilities are addressed in a single unified plan.”
– Mark Pestridge, Executive Vice President & General Manager for Telehouse Europe, observes, “We welcome the government’s decision to recognise the critical importance of our sector by designating data centres as Critical National Infrastructure. This move is a vital step in ensuring that the UK’s digital backbone is protected from emerging threats and unforeseen incidents, reinforcing confidence in the security and resilience of the nation’s data infrastructure.
“The increased government support and prioritised access to security agencies will be instrumental in safeguarding the vast amounts of personal, financial, and health data that power our economy and daily lives.”
– Camellia Chan, CEO and Co-Founder, Flexxon, adds, “Vast amounts of information are stored and managed in data centres, so it’s about time the UK government declared them a critical national infrastructure. This is especially important since the presence of such huge amounts of data – which is increasing with the rise in data-hungry applications like AI – is a massive motive for cybercriminals. The effects on business operations and continuity, as well as the financial losses of a cyber attack can be devastating – in 2023, the average cost of a data breach was $4.45 million.
Data centres cannot afford to rely solely on traditional software security such as firewalls and VPNs. These reactive, static and human-centric methods can be too easily manipulated, exploited by Zero Day attackers or weakened by human error. To ensure security across the entire attack life cycle, a holistic approach that detects cyber threats, responds to them and can recover data in the unfortunate event of an attack is necessary. To do so you need a combination of software and hardware solutions that incorporate self-learning AI.”
The post Industry reacts to Critical National Infrastructure designation appeared first on Data Centre & Network News.