H.R. 8711 — Data Infrastructure Risk Reduction Act

This section directs the Secretary of Homeland Security, acting through the Director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and in collaboration with the Secretary of Defense as appropriate, to identify data centers that should be treated as critical infrastructure within 180 days of enactment. The section further requires the Secretary to consider the security of connected power and water supply infrastructure, with particular focus on above-ground electric power transmission lines and electrical substations, as well as the implications of data centers sited near communities or residential areas, and to submit to Congress a strategy with recommendations to defend such data centers from external breaches and protect nearby communities.