AI data centers face growing threats amid escalating cyber and physical attacks

Ukrainian drones struck three Yandex data centers over four days last week, causing disruptions to services used by banks, retailers, and ordinary Russians. One facility in Sasovo housed tens of thousands of servers and two supercomputers critical for Yandex’s AI development. These attacks followed Russian strikes on Ukraine’s digital infrastructure, including damage to Kyiv’s Parkovyi Data Center that left it irreparable. The incidents highlight the vulnerability of AI infrastructure, as governments and companies invest billions in data centers for AI, including military uses. Jeffrey Lewis, a fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute, warns that militaries may target AI data centers for their computational power, which supports battlefield intelligence and decision-making. He notes that data centers are large, energy-intensive, and hard to conceal, even if buried underground. The growing reliance on AI infrastructure makes it a prime target in future conflicts. The use of AI by Ukraine’s military, including drone navigation and battlefield analysis, underscores the importance of robust computing resources. However, the physical nature of these facilities makes them susceptible to attack. With AI’s military applications expanding, the stakes of protecting these centers are rising. The recent attacks serve as a warning of the potential damage that could be inflicted on the digital economy’s physical backbone.