From TIME · Richard Hall · · 2m
Data centers become the new front line of war
Iran, Russia and Ukraine have begun targeting computing facilities that power AI, banks and hospitals, forcing tech companies to rethink where they build.
In brief
Iran, Russia and Ukraine have begun targeting computing facilities that power AI, banks and hospitals, forcing tech companies to rethink where they build. Military strikes on data centers in Iran, Russia and Ukraine show computing infrastructure has become a warfare target, threatening economies and critical services…
Iran strikes data centers in the Gulf
When the U.S. and Israel launched attacks against Iran earlier this year, Tehran responded by striking energy infrastructure and data centers across the Gulf region.
A new front in modern warfare
Similar attacks have since taken place in Russia and Ukraine, where both sides have been trading tit-for-tat strikes on data centers. Experts say these attacks represent a new front in warfare.
Why data centers matter now
The AI boom has led to a surge in demand for computing power and cloud services.Tech companies are investing hundreds of billions of dollars a year.
The stakes of losing data centers
Kirk Cameron, founding director of the Institute for Advanced Computing at Virginia Tech, says the loss of key data centers could collapse economies, disrupt transportation with loss of GPS, and affect government essential services.
“The loss of key data centers could collapse economies, disrupt public and private transportation with loss of GPS, and affect government essential services for health, emergency dispatch, and power grids.”
Iran's March strikes on Amazon facilities
In March this year, Iran launched strikes on two Amazon facilities in the United Arab Emirates and another in Bahrain was damaged by a nearby drone strike. Those facilities have been mostly offline ever since.
Russia and Ukraine escalate the conflict
Russian attacks on Ukrainian data centers in late September disrupted television broadcasts and internet access. Ukraine responded on October eighth with drone strikes on three data centers belonging to Yandex, Russia's version of Google.
Tech companies rethink their strategy
The spate of attacks has caused tech companies to rethink how and where they build data centers.The United Arab Emirates is reportedly revising plans for a five-gigawatt AI data center project following the Iranian strikes.
U.S. policy faces new questions
Emily Harding at the Center for Strategic and International Studies says the government may need to decide whether attacks on American tech companies constitute attacks on the United States itself, to create deterrence and protect…
The headline
Military strikes on data centers in Iran, Russia and Ukraine show computing infrastructure has become a warfare target, threatening economies and critical services.
