Team Blitz India
NEW DELHI: The UK Government has drawn up plans for data centres operating in the country to implement tougher security and resilience measures to protect against potential disruption. These include shielding against cyber-attacks as well as extreme weather events.
A new set of laws to further protect the nation’s data would make minimum requirements mandatory to ensure data centre operators are taking appropriate steps to boost their security and resilience, according to a statement from the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.
The Data Protection and Digital Information Bill will help in improving data security, bolstering national security, and delivering new postBrexit economic opportunities to the tune of at least £4 billion, it stated.
“The government is serious about keeping data safe, which is why we are calling on these businesses to actively share their insights and expertise, whilst also making sure we have the right regulations in place,” the release quoted Minister for Data and Digital Infrastructure Sir John Whittingdale.
A new regulatory function is also being considered, to make sure operators of data centre services report incidents and work with the sector to assure and test risk mitigation against threats and hazards.
The move is intended to encourage better transparency of information and cooperation across industry and the government so risks to the UK can be appropriately identified and addressed.
As data centres play a crucial role in the UK economy, a significant security issue could impact the entire country, not just individual businesses, so the plans would make sure these businesses are operating in line with the greater national interest, the statement added. As such, the government is also considering designating parts of the data centre sector as critical national infrastructure.
Around 28 per cent of all UK businesses use services housed in data centres. Large companies, specifically those with at least 250 employees, are even more likely to use them, with 62 percent doing so.
Data centre operators generated around £4.6 billion in revenue in 2021. In 2022, data played a significant role in the UK’s economy, contributing 6.9 per cent to its GDP, and 76 per cent of all UK service exports were reliant on data.
More widely, 85 per cent of all businesses surveyed said they handle digital data and almost all businesses with 10 or more employees do so. With data centre outages costing the industry billions a year, it is hoped these changes will protect against potential risks.
