US reports billions in savings following data center closures & announces the newly proposed FDCEA

According to the US government, through the Federal Data Center Optimization Initiative (FDCOI), which saw the closure of 6,000 data centers, $5.8 billion was saved over the course of 12 years. This is announcement coincides with the newly proposed Federal Data Center Enhancement Act of 2022, which now seeks to shift focus to secure data centers and a move to the cloud.

According to reports, the new proposal has the backing of a group of bipartisan senators who say the legislation will establish baseline cybersecurity requirements and implement new protections against weather-related disasters country-wide. 

Speaking about the need to secure federal data centers, due to the confidential information they contain, Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.), chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, said in a statement following the introduction of the bill:

"The federal government is responsible for storing considerable amounts of sensitive and personal information. He added: "We must ensure this data is stored securely and used in a way that does not violate civil rights and liberties."

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Tex.) echoed these sentiments, outlining: "The sensitive information stored on federal systems cannot be left open to vulnerabilities like cyberattacks or natural disasters. This legislation would help secure federal data and encourage optimization, which will save taxpayer dollars and protect Americans who entrust their information to the federal government."