While hackers and power outages were the main threats to Ukrainian data centers in the past, now the buildings housing the servers themselves have become targets.
Since the beginning of September, Russia has been systematically attacking data centers and has already affected the digital infrastructure, including in the capital Kiev. For example, signals of various TV channels and streaming services have been temporarily interrupted. Subscribers of some cable operators have also reported problems.
Why is Russia attacking data centers?
A data center is a facility where information is stored. It houses the servers, data storage systems, and network equipment that ensure the uninterrupted operation of online services. News portals, state registries, online banking, cloud services, telephone systems and corporate networks – they all rely on them. Therefore, the damage to such a facility affects not only personal access to the Internet, but also a wide range of everyday services. This makes these centers key targets for attacks.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sibikha said that Russia is attacking large Ukrainian data centers in an attempt to disrupt the flow of information. He also noted that as Russia fails to achieve its goals on the battlefield, it is looking for new ways to destabilize the lives of people in Ukraine.
Is it possible for the Internet in Ukraine to stop working?
Despite the scale of the attacks on data centers, experts believe that a complete disruption of the Internet connection is unlikely. "The sector in Ukraine has never been regulated and there was no need for expensive licenses. The market entry was very accessible, which is why thousands of entrepreneurs offered such services. We are talking about a relatively decentralized industry," explains telecommunications expert Oleksandr Khlushchenko in an interview with DW.
According to him, the average Ukrainian can choose from several providers, with up to ten of them available in some residential buildings. It is this competition that has led to Ukraine having "perhaps some of the best Internet access services in the world," the expert notes. At the same time, however, Khlushchenko points out that physical damage can lead to the shutdown of certain network segments of specific providers until they are physically restored.
This is also noted by MP Oleksandr Fedienko, a member of the parliamentary committee on national security, defense and intelligence. "Will the Internet disappear in Ukraine? Of course not. The infrastructure will be restructured and backup facilities will be built," he wrote on Facebook. According to him, Russian attacks are pointless, since Ukrainian Internet providers are able to quickly restore everything.
Serhiy Beskrestnov, an adviser to the president on the development of defense technologies, believes that Russian attacks on Ukrainian data centers are more like an information warfare tactic. "They already scared us with claims that we will be left without food and fuel, and now they are inciting fear of Internet shutdown", he also wrote on Facebook.
How can data and equipment be protected?
Olexander Khlushchenko notes that while one server can be destroyed, the data is simultaneously stored and archived in other data centers, including those abroad. "This allows systems to automatically switch to another data center", the expert explains. At the same time, telecommunications companies store copies using European cloud services such as those of Google and Amazon.
Olexander Olshansky, founder of the provider MiroHost and head of Internet Invest – a leading Ukrainian IT and hosting services company, reported that his data center was practically destroyed. However, the impact on customers was minimal. "About 95 percent of customers were not affected, as they rely on capacities in Poland and the Czech Republic. Out of a total of 20-25 thousand customers, only about 150 were affected, who for one reason or another did not move, duplicate or archive their infrastructure," Olshansky said in an interview with RBC-Ukraine.
Experts advise data centers to pay even more attention to decentralization, to acquire additional equipment and to disperse it in different locations. Another recommendation is to duplicate the data in the servers in European data centers, as well as through cloud services. Moving to underground facilities would be another possible solution. However, such measures would also lead to additional costs for customers. Serhiy Beskrestnov also expects the costs of repairing the facilities to lead to an increase in the prices of Internet services in Ukraine.
Source: www.dw.com