The growing public backlash against data centers in the United States could become an unexpected obstacle for the country’s cybersecurity ambitions. While concerns over electricity consumption, water usage, noise and environmental impact are legitimate, widespread opposition to new data-center projects could also slow the expansion of the digital infrastructure needed to support secure cloud computing, artificial intelligence and critical services. A Gallup survey conducted in March 2026 found that 71% of Americans opposed constructing an AI data center in their local area, with 48% strongly opposed. Environmental concerns were among the primary reasons behind the resistance. Data Centers are more than AI Infrastructure Modern data centers are the backbone of cloud platforms, financial services, healthcare systems, government applications, communications and cybersecurity operations. Security technologies increasingly depend on large-scale computing infrastructure to process enormous volumes of telemetry, identify anomalies and respond to cyber threats. AI is further increasing this dependence. Security operations centers are adopting AI for threat detection, malware analysis, automated incident response, behavioral analytics and vulnerability management. Consequently, insufficient computing capacity could eventually affect how quickly organizations can detect and respond to sophisticated cyberattacks. The concern becomes particularly important as cybercriminals themselves increasingly use automation and AI to accelerate attacks. Stronger opposition could create an Infrastructure Bottleneck Public opposition can result in lengthy permitting processes, stricter local regulations and delays in data-center construction. Current developments already indicate the scale of the problem: reports suggest that dozens of U.S. data-center projects have faced delays or cancellations amid community opposition and concerns about resources. At the same time, global data-center electricity consumption is projected to reach 565 TWh in 2026, representing a 26% increase from 2025, according to Gartner. If the United States cannot expand computing infrastructure at the required pace, organizations could face limited access to high-performance computing resources. This