Yandex, often referred to as Russia’s Google, has reported that 2.84% of its customer data was permanently lost following recent Ukrainian drone strikes on its data centers. The cloud computing division stated that it has restored access to more than 97% of the affected information, but the remaining portion cannot be recovered due to critical hardware damage.
Yandex Cloud data loss and backup policy
The data centers operated by Yandex have faced repeated attacks over the past several weeks. At least three separate locations have sustained damage from these assaults. In a recent blog post, the company addressed the impact on its customers. It noted that users who had previously utilized Yandex Cloud backup tools did not experience any data loss. In contrast, the unrecoverable data was partly attributed to a lack of customer backups on the platform.
To prevent future losses, Yandex has updated its operational policies. The company now enables the backup function by default for all newly created virtual machines in Yandex Cloud. This change ensures that data is automatically protected without requiring manual configuration by the user. The firm also advised customers to maintain their own independent backup systems, recommending the 3-2-1 backup strategy as a best practice.
New availability zone for resilience
In addition to policy changes, Yandex is expanding its infrastructure to improve fault tolerance. The company has opened a new availability zone named ru-central1-f. This facility is located at a previously undisclosed site. The new zone is designed to enhance the cloud’s disaster resilience and provide greater stability for services.
Currently, the range of services available at ru-central1-f is limited. The company has not shared specific geographic details about the location of this new data center. The expansion comes as Yandex seeks to mitigate the risks associated with physical attacks on its existing infrastructure. The company continues to monitor the situation and adjust its operations to ensure service continuity for its remaining customers.
Source: Tom’s Hardware
