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Today on Forbes, the next AI arms race is about fortifying data centers.

The AI boom created a colossal market for compute, GPUs, networking gear, and the massive data centers that run at all.

It also bolstered a second, less celebrated market, protecting those facilities and the

crown jewel chips inside from threats.

On top of rising anti-data center sentiment stateside, the war in Iran has turned that problem

into a line item.

Matt McCran, former executive at drone defense company

Drone Shield, who has worked with data centers in the U.S. and Middle East, says, quote,

data centers are secondary targets right after obvious military sites. That shift matters because

the AI data centers being built these days aren't just expensive.

They're also possible strategic infrastructure during times of war.

Enemies don't need to hit a military site to degrade an opponent's capability.

They can hit compute that potentially underpins communications, logistics, payments, and even military planning.

Executives and data center security tell Forbes that reality is driving an increased appetite

for more hardened security, especially counter-drone capabilities, both in the Middle East and elsewhere.

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