Second strike on Yandex in two days: data center equipment fails in Kaluga
On the night of October 9, Ukrainian drones attacked the data center of the Russian company "Yandex" in Kaluga. As a result of the strike, several modules of the data processing center completely failed, and the company warned of possible disruptions in the operation of its services. This is already the second damaged Yandex data center in two days.
The attack was reported by the independent Russian publication Astra. The information about infrastructure damage was later confirmed by the Yandex press service, as cited by "Kommersant".
According to the company, the strike damaged part of the data center infrastructure in Kaluga. Several of its modules were completely put out of service.
Yandex specialists and emergency services are working at the scene. The company is assessing the scale of destruction and warns that some of its online services may work intermittently.
No casualties directly on the territory of the data center are reported.
In the meantime, Kaluga region governor Vladislav Shapsha stated that nine people were injured as a result of the night attack on the region, five of whom were hospitalized. According to him, the condition of the hospitalized is stable.
Russian authorities also reported damage to urban infrastructure in Kaluga and private houses in two municipal districts.
According to the governor, during the night Russian air defense allegedly shot down 26 drones over the Kaluga region.
Currently, there is no confirmation that the nine victims were near the Yandex data center.
Second data center in two days
The previous night, October 8, Ukrainian drones attacked another Yandex data center - in the city of Sasovo, Ryazan region.
The facility is located on the territory of the machine-building plant "Sasta". As a result of the strike, a fire broke out, damaging the data center infrastructure.
The operation of the data center in Sasovo was completely stopped. According to information from the Russian publication "Kommersant", as of the evening of October 8, Yandex could not confirm the possibility of restoring the damaged equipment.
The company continues to assess the scale of losses. The timing of the restoration of the facility's work remains unknown.
The attack on the data center in the Ryazan region has already caused problems in the operation of Russian online services.
As previously reported by "Kurs Ukrainy", on October 8, disruptions occurred in the real estate service CIAN, electronic document management platforms of the "Astral" group, and the online ticket sales system of the Moscow region carrier "Mostransavto".
Users also complained about the operation of other digital platforms, although a direct link of all recorded failures to the data center damage was not confirmed.
In addition, according to the local publication "Kaluga 24", due to the shutdown of the data center in Sasovo on October 8, some internet resources of the Kaluga region government bodies stopped working, including the website of the Kaluga city administration.
Thus, the consequences of the first strike spread beyond the Ryazan region and affected third-party organizations that use Yandex's cloud infrastructure.
Yandex hid data centers on its maps
On the background of the attacks, the Russian independent publication "Verstka" drew attention to changes in Yandex's mapping service.
Journalists discovered that satellite images show blurring over the territories of four of the company's data centers located in the Moscow, Ryazan, Kaluga, and Vladimir regions.
Specifically, the objects in Mytishchi, Sasovo, Kaluga, and Vladimir.
When searching for the corresponding addresses, the mapping service also does not always show the location of the data centers.
At the same time, journalists were unable to determine exactly when the images of these objects were blurred. Therefore, there are currently no grounds to claim that Yandex hid them immediately after the strike on October 8.
Zelensky confirmed response to Russian strikes on data centers
Earlier, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky commented on the attack on the Yandex data center in the Ryazan region, calling it a response to Russia's strikes on Ukrainian digital infrastructure.
"We always respond in kind. You all know, they hit and are hitting our data centers, we responded to them", - the head of state stated on October 8 during a conversation with journalists.
At the same time, Zelensky noted that he cannot reveal all details of Ukrainian operations.
In recent weeks, Russian strikes have damaged or destroyed several major data centers in Kyiv.
In particular, after repeated attacks, the DC|Cosmonova data center shut down. The company reported that the damaged site would not be restored and some services would be moved to another infrastructure.
The dline.ua data center on Predslavynska Street was also destroyed, and the infrastructure of the "Parkovyi" data center was damaged.
On October 6, "Omega Telecom" reported the closure of its Kyiv data center after a Russian strike. At the same time, the operator continued to restore communication channels at backup sites.
In addition, Russian attacks damaged two data centers of the mobile operator "Kyivstar", one of which had to be completely disconnected.
As a result of these strikes, Ukrainian companies were forced to relocate equipment, restore communication channels, and switch client services to backup infrastructure.
New strikes on data processing centers in Russia demonstrate the vulnerability of digital infrastructure on which the work of state institutions, business, and online platforms depends.
Unlike ordinary server rooms, large data centers provide simultaneous operation of numerous independent services. Therefore, damage to one site can affect not only its owner, but also third-party companies and organizations.
After two consecutive attacks on Yandex facilities, the company faced the need to restore two sites at once. The final extent of damage, repair possibilities, and consequences for cloud infrastructure customers have not yet been determined.
