(Come back later today for Part 2 and an in-depth look at more Data Center issues.)

NEW YORK CITY-It should really come as no surprise that the US is the safest base for data centers. So says a newly released report from Cushman & Wakefield, which conducted the survey in conjunction with consulting engineering firm hurleypalmerflatt and telecommunications consultant Source8. The Data Center Risk Index 2013 evaluates risks likely to affect the successful operation of data-center facilities in the 30 most important global markets.

But questions remain. Questions such as how safe is safe in this Post-September 11 world? 

But first, the ranking: The Top 10 markets for data centers, along with their index ranking, are:

1) US (100)

2) UK (89.53)

3) Sweden (82.29)

4) Germany (81.29)

5) Canada (81.16)

6) Hong Kong (79.63)

7) Iceland (79.47)

8) Norway (79.45)

9) Finland (78.74)

10) Qatar (78.37)

The rankings were based on risk categories such as energy cost, international internet bandwidth, ease of doing business, corporate taxation, labor costs, political stability, sustainability and natural disasters.

“In the US, factors such as robust internet bandwidth capacity and connectivity and stable power costs contribute to its top ranking,” says Jeff West, director of C&W's Data Center Research in the Americas. “Throughout the Americas, secondary and maturing markets hold an abundance of potential.”

But GlobeSt.com went beyond the statement to explore some of the other issues attendant to data centers. While political stability factored into the rankings, we asked West specifically about the risk of terrorism.

In fact, he says, “data centers have not proven to be potential targets. There's only one alleged plot against one (a Telehouse facility in the UK in 2007) that was thwarted so early in the planning stages that there's disagreement about whether it was actually a plot against the facility.”

In the US, West, says, the buildings often have as many as seven layers of security, and “most are often anonymous buildings.” In addition, the tenant roster is these buildings is usually kept hush-hush.

Finally, he notes, “while these are mission-critical operations for the tenants involved, there is really no one facility that could have a dramatic impact if targeted, such as disrupting internet traffic for significant populations.” He believes the real threat lies outside the facilities, “cyber-oriented and aimed at disrupting targeted websites, corporations or agencies or physical infrastructure such as fiber optic submarine cables being disrupted.”

(Come back later today for Part 2 and an in-depth look at more Data Center issues.)