A series of drone attacks on Yandex data centres in Russia led to disruptions in the operation of digital services in Kazakhstan and other countries. On 11 October, users encountered problems when ordering taxis and delivery. As of 12 October, the company continues restoration work.
WHAT IS KNOWN
According to Reuters, the first two incidents occurred on the night of 7 to 8 October and on the morning of 9 October.
In Sasovo, Ryazan Oblast, a data centre sustained serious damage after a drone attack and was completely shut down. The attack then affected the company's facility in Kaluga, where part of the infrastructure failed. The company reported that employees were not injured, and specialists and emergency services began work on site.
On the night of 11 October, a third data centre was damaged — in Vladimir Oblast. According to the company, the facility ceased operations completely, and there were no casualties.
WHICH SERVICES STOPPED WORKING IN KAZAKHSTAN
On 11 October, users in Kazakhstan encountered disruptions in the operation of Yandex Go, including taxi and food and goods delivery services. Drivers and couriers also experienced difficulties using the platform. The company warned that certain services may operate with errors or remain temporarily unavailable.
Yandex Qazaqstan's press service explained that technological platforms use distributed computing infrastructure: different tasks are performed on servers located in different countries. Therefore, a disruption in the operation of one component outside Kazakhstan can affect the availability of certain functions within the country.
When disruptions occur, the company redistributes the load between other infrastructure components. However, this process in itself does not guarantee the immediate restoration of all functions.
WHAT THE MINISTRY OF DIGITAL DEVELOPMENT SAID
On 11 October, Kazakhstan's Ministry of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development reported that the servers intended for storing the personal data of Kazakh users of Yandex are located on the territory of the country and are operating normally.
At the same time, the ministry emphasised that local data storage does not mean the digital platform is fully autonomous. Some components required for the operation of taxi and delivery services are located outside Kazakhstan, so disruptions in foreign infrastructure can affect the availability of services within the republic.
The ministry reported that it is interacting with the company and Kazakh infrastructure organisations to provide the necessary support. At the same time, the ministry is working with other taxi and delivery platforms to ensure their resilience under conditions of increased load.
WHY DISRUPTIONS IN RUSSIA AFFECTED KAZAKHSTAN
The situation demonstrated the difference between the location where personal data is stored and the infrastructure that ensures the operation of a digital service. Servers with user data may be located in Kazakhstan, while certain computing capacities and platform components are located abroad.
Therefore, data localisation in itself does not rule out cross-border disruptions. For the uninterrupted operation of services, what matters is not only the location where information is stored, but also the resilience of the entire technological infrastructure, as well as the ability to redistribute the load when individual components fail.
