Why Lithuania is Europe’s cybersecurity champion for data centers

Data centers store and process vast amounts of sensitive data, making them prime targets for cyber threats. As cyber attacks grow more frequent and sophisticated, data centers need more than just infrastructure – high cybersecurity levels are now essential for their protection and resilience.

Lithuania delivers exactly that – the country is a known cybersecurity leader that combines well-developed digital connectivity, reliable power supply, and a skilled talent pool.

Strong cybersecurity credentials

Lithuania consistently ranks among the top cybersecurity locations globally. In 2025, the country was recognized as 1st in Europe and 3rd globally for cybersecurity performance by StartupBlink, a global startup research platform.

It also named Vilnius, the Lithuanian capital, the best city in the EU for cybersecurity in 2024. Earlier ITU assessments also placed Lithuania 6th worldwide in the Global Cybersecurity Index, reflecting the country’s long-term commitment to online security.

These high rankings are underpinned by a comprehensive national cybersecurity model led by the Ministry of National Defence through the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), ensuring fast decision-making and military-grade oversight.

This centralized structure provides coordinated protection of critical infrastructures – a key factor in the country’s resilience and attractiveness as a secure digital hub.

Lithuania’s emphasis on protecting critical infrastructure directly benefits data centers requiring secure, compliant environments. The country’s legal cybersecurity framework, aligned with the EU’s NIS2 directive, was expanded in 2025 from approximately 300 to over 1,400 entities, including essential and important operators across industries like energy, finance, healthcare, and defense.

Lithuania’s approach stands out for its centralized compliance model, with the NCSC empowered to list all covered entities, eliminating gaps in compliance coverage.

Beyond national borders, Lithuania plays a pivotal role in regional cyber defense. The country coordinates EU-wide Cyber Rapid Response Teams, which unite experts from 11 member states to detect, mitigate, and respond to cross-border cyber threats.

The Lithuania-based Regional Cyber Defense Center, established in partnership with the United States and regional allies, focuses on information sharing, joint threat analysis, and cyber defense training for countries in the Baltic and Nordic regions, aligning with NATO and EU defense frameworks.

Talent, power, and connectivity 

The tech-savvy Lithuanian talent pool is skilled in cybersecurity, supported by initiatives to train and retain professionals crucial for data center and IT security expertise. The country’s universities run popular cybersecurity degree programs, while 15,000 IT specialists have already requalified through government reskilling programs.

All of this continuously expands the country’s 70,000-strong ICT workforce, ranked 1st in the EU by the number of young professionals (ages 15-34) entering the sector. 

Lithuania also benefits from a dynamic tech ecosystem with leading cybersecurity firms like Nord Security and government-backed cybersecurity venture funds like ScaleWolf to foster innovation, making the local workforce highly competitive for secure data center and cyber operations.

The country’s high levels of cybersecurity preparedness are complemented by a secure power supply. Lithuania’s grid reliability ranks among Europe’s highest, with a 100 percent uptime record for 330kV networks. Independence from the BRELL energy system and full synchronization with the European grid also ensures energy security and resilience.

Over the past five years, Lithuania has also been transforming into self-sufficiency in domestic power generation, adding approximately 50 percent more generation capacity to the grid from renewable sources.

Last year, the country generated 75.8 percent of its electricity from renewable sources, according to Eurostat – nearly double the EU average of 41.7 percent. Moreover, Lithuania aims to achieve 100 percent renewable energy in total electricity consumption by 2028, and become a net electricity exporter by 2030.

In terms of connectivity, the country’s data network features five terrestrial and three subsea fiber-optic routes linking directly to Sweden, Poland, and broader continental Europe. This grid enables millisecond-level latency to major hubs like Stockholm (12-16ms), Frankfurt (18-22ms), and Amsterdam (21-25ms), a critical factor for data centers relying on routing redundancy and uninterrupted cross-border throughput.

For data center operators, the value proposition is clear: Lithuania delivers not only world-class cybersecurity, but also technical talent and environmental sustainability in one strategic location.

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