Russian government urges strategic data centers to move underground as Ukrainian drone attacks intensify

Russia's Ministry of Digital Development has endorsed proposals to enhance the protection of data centers from drone attacks, with a recommendation to relocate particularly vital strategic facilities underground or into bunkers, as reported by the Kremlin-affiliated newspaper Kommersant on October 25. The ministry's industry task force categorized critical data centers into three tiers, each with distinct security requirements: K1 for strategically vital sites where damage would cripple government operations for a minimum of an hour; K2 for facilities that sustain economically or socially significant systems at regional or industry levels; and K3 for corporate data centers whose disruption chiefly impacts the company rather than governmental entities.

For existing data centers, the guidelines propose minimizing their aerial visibility and constructing multi-layered defenses around them. For facilities still under construction, the advice suggests placing strategically significant ones underground or in reinforced bunker structures, ensuring that server halls, cooling systems, and power supplies remain operational.

The recommendations also advocate for establishing a centralized coordination center enabling data center operators to liaise with emergency services, law enforcement, and the military. Industry personnel interviewed by Kommersant deemed the proposed measures effective. Following a recent surge of drone attacks on data centers, with the latest targeting Federal Tax Service facilities in Nizhny Novgorod, operators have already begun installing anti-drone netting at their sites.

While the implementation of these new measures may raise provider service costs by up to 10%, the heightened security could mitigate the potential for extensive operational disruptions. For instance, recovering from damage inflicted by Ukrainian drones on Yandex data centers, some of which are under construction in the Saratov Region, could take months and necessitate emergency mode operations for cloud services.

Additionally, disruptions to Yandex's Yandex data centers have led to diabetes patients in Russia losing access to glucose-monitoring applications. Earlier this year, Ukrainian drones also attacked two Yandex data centers, causing significant damage to one facility in Kaluga and damaging a major facility housing two of Yandex's supercomputers.