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Data centres as vital as NHS and power grid, government says

Critical national infrastructure status means they will get extra government support during emergencies.

Data centres in the UK are to be classified as critical national infrastructure, joining the emergency services, finance and healthcare systems, and energy and water supplies. It means they would get extra government support during a major incident, such as a cyber attack, an IT outage or extreme weather, in order to minimise disruption. A team of officials will now be set up to specifically monitor potential threats against data centres and coordinate a response in the event of a serious incident, such as the recent worldwide chaos sparked by an update from the cybersecurity firm Crowdstrike, which affected millions of people and businesses.

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