How do attacks on data centres disrupt internet services?

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1. 1

   Data center (Wikipedia)

   WikipediaPublished Oct 8, 2026Checked Oct 11, 2026

   “A data center is a physical room, building, or facility for storing, managing, and disseminating data and information, including computer systems and associated components, housing IT infrastructure, and training artificial intelligence. The United States' act of Congress, the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, defines a data center as "any facility that primarily contains electronic equipment used to process, store, and transmit digital information." This includes "a free-standing structure" or "a facility within a larger structure, that uses environmental control equipment to maintain the proper conditions for the operation of electronic equipment." According to IBM, data centers date back to the 1940s, with the U.S. military's Electrical Numerical Integrator and Computer (ENIAC) as an early example. Data centers have different models depending on their workloads.”

2. 2

   Ukraine strikes Yandex data centre in third attack on Russian tech giant

   BBC NewsPublished Oct 11, 2026Checked Oct 11, 2026

   “It is the third time this week that Ukraine has targeted Russian tech giant Yandex, forcing the company to suspend its operations.”

3. 3

   Modelling Cascading Failure in Complex CPSS to Inform Resilient Mission Assurance: An Intelligent Transport System Case Study.

   Entropy (Basel, Switzerland) (Sobb & Turnbull)Published Jul 25, 2025Checked Oct 11, 2026

   “They represent unique opportunities but also have potential threats to system operation and correctness. The emergent behaviour in Complex Cyber-Physical-Social Systems (C-CPSSs), caused by events such as cyber-attacks and network outages, have the potential to have devastating effects to critical services across society. It is therefore imperative that the risk of cascading failure is minimised through the fortifying of these systems of systems to achieve resilient mission assurance. This work designs and implements a programmatic model to validate the value of cascading failure simulation and analysis, which is then tested against a C-CPSS intelligent transport system scenario. Results from the model and its implementations highlight the value in identifying both critical nodes and percolation of consequences during a cyber failure, in addition to the importance of including social nodes in models for accurate simulation results. Understanding the relationships between cyber, physical, and social nodes is key to understanding systems' failures that occur because of or that involve cyber systems, in order to achieve cyber and system resilience.”

4. 4

   Cyber Military Operations under International Humanitarian Law: Interpreting the Concept of "Attack" and Challenges in Protecting Civilians.

   F1000Research (Hamdan et al.)Published Jul 9, 2026Checked Oct 11, 2026

   “These challenges impede the practical application of the principles of distinction, proportionality, and precaution.ConclusionsThe study concludes that the concept of "attack" needs to be reinterpreted considering the indirect harm inflicted on civilians resulting from cyber operations. It also manifests the need to raise the scope of legal protection encompassing fundamental civilian digital data and confirms the possibility of developing a specialized international legal framework that governs cyber operations whether through the creation of an additional protocol or a treaty specific for such operations. Finally, the study further affirms the necessity to establish a neutral international mechanism that can conduct fact-finding tasks, investigate violations, and assign liabilities so as to promote better adherence to humanitarian principles in contemporary armed conflicts.”