The Burn Bag Podcast
We’re here to redefine how scholars and policymakers approach national security and foreign policy. Join us, as we make sense of a world in crisis.
The Burn Bag Podcast
Data Centers as Targets: What Happens if the Cloud and AI Infrastructure gets Hit? with Morgan Plummer
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For decades, wars targeted oil fields, pipelines, ports, and power grids. But in March 2026, that logic appeared to change when Iranian strikes reportedly targeted commercial cloud infrastructure in the Persian Gulf, damaging data center facilities in the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain and disrupting digital services used by millions.
What happens when data centers become wartime targets? How vulnerable is the infrastructure powering artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and the global economy? And what could attacks on commercial compute hubs mean for markets, businesses, and ordinary Americans?
On this episode of The Burn Bag, A’ndre Gonawela speaks with Morgan C. Plummer about the growing strategic importance of AI infrastructure in an era of geopolitical conflict. They discuss why commercial cloud infrastructure is increasingly viewed as a high-value target, how disruptions to data centers could ripple through the global economy, and what governments can do to protect the digital backbone of modern life.
