Major data centres to meet stricter security, resilience rules with the passing of new Bill
[SINGAPORE] Large data centres that underpin critical digital services in Singapore will need to account for a range of risks from physical and operational continuity...
The Digital Infrastructure Bill, passed in Singapore's Parliament on October 7, mandates stricter security and resilience rules for large data centers that provide critical digital services to the nation. The legislation aims to ensure energy efficiency and operational resilience, addressing physical security concerns and recovery from system misconfigurations, fires, floods, and power supply interruptions through licensing.
Similar cyber-incident reporting requirements, currently enforced on critical information infrastructure operators, will also apply to most major data centers after amendments to the Cybersecurity Act. Senior Minister of State for Digital Development and Information Tan Kiat How emphasized the interconnected nature of digital services, stating that disruptions to one service can quickly impact multiple services, affecting Singapore's economy and society at large.
Approximately two-thirds of the 70 data centers in Singapore meet specific revenue or electrical capacity thresholds set by the new Bill, with those matching the scale including Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud Platform. The authorities did not disclose the names of the firms but highlighted that five decades of milestones and moments have shaped Singapore's success story through headlines.
During the five-hour debate on the new Bill, 19 MPs discussed the economic value of data centers, their impact on Singapore's competitiveness and job market, as well as plans for older facilities, sustainability, security, and resilience. MPs raised concerns about whether the new requirements could weaken Singapore's competitiveness and drive investments to regional rivals. They also inquired about support for upgrading older data centers and how Singapore could upskill its workforce for the growing data center sector.
Tan acknowledged that data center development has become a politically charged issue in many countries due to the growing demand for computing power, particularly for artificial intelligence applications. Some nations have had to formulate responses to manage the pressures of rapid data center growth on resources like electricity, water, and land.
Singapore, with its limited land, power, and water resources, needs to plan ahead to accommodate its digital economy and AI ambitions while adhering to resource and environmental constraints.
The Digital Infrastructure Bill introduces two types of licenses: foundational digital infrastructure (FDI) and data center (DC) licenses. Data centers requiring at least 10MW of electrical capacity for essential computing equipment will need an FDI license, while cloud service providers generating more than an average annual revenue of S$100 million from Singapore users over three years will also require an FDI license.
Data centers using at least 3MW of electricity will be eligible for a DC license, which will mandate adherence to power usage effectiveness (PUE) requirements yet to be determined.
Written by urgent.news from The Business Times - Companies & Markets's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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