*Athanasios Tsakalos

A leak in one of the water tanks of the Ministry of Finance of Cyprus has caused the disconnection of government websites, with those in charge declaring ignorance as to the time when the problem will be fixed.

According to the Director General of the Ministry of Finance, Giorgos Pantelis, the problem was caused due to a leak in one of the large water tanks of the Ministry of Finance, located in the basement next to the server room that provides internet access to the entire government hub, i.e. for all state services.

For security reasons, as he said, the servers have been disconnected to repair the damage and remove any moisture in the basement, adding that efforts are being made to repair the damage faster and restore the systems, noting that the public, as well as government agencies, will not have internet access until the damage is repaired.

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The Deputy Ministry of Research, Innovation, and Digital Policy is making every effort to restore the State’s online services, according to the Deputy Minister of Innovation, Filippos Hadjizacharias, while an investigation will be conducted to establish the reasons why the relevant decision of the Cabinet back in November was not implemented. The said decision provided for the change of location of the servers to the premises of the Cyprus Telecommunications Authority (CYTA) and for the absence of further protection measures of existing facilities.

So far, the call center has been restored and put back into operation, while experts are working intensively to restore the rest of the affected services as soon as possible.

GEEF site 1/04/2023 at 4:09 p.m.

However, it is noted that the website of the National Guard General Staff (GEEF) is operating, while that of the Ministry of Defence is currently down.

MoD site 11/04/2023 at 4:07 p.m.

The Value of Data Centers

In recent years, in addition to numerous IT and technology companies, large Data Centers have also emerged in Cyprus. In fact, DEFENCE ReDEFiNED visited one of them several months ago, that of the CL8 company in Limassol.

During the visit, the DEFENCE ReDEFiNED team had the opportunity to be thoroughly informed about the capabilities of the CL8 Data Center, which is the first independent, state-of-the-art, carrier-neutral Tier III Data Center in Cyprus.

Data Center of CL8

The Data Center in question complies with internationally recognized standards, hosting the servers of companies and organizations. CL8 has the expertise, personnel, and infrastructure to provide high-level services equal to those of similar centers abroad. Further, the CL8 Data Centre received the Tier III Constructed Facility (TCCF) certification from the Uptime Institute of the USA. This certification confirms the high-level standards as well as the smooth and uninterrupted operation and service provision offered by a Data Center even under extreme conditions.

More specifically, a Data Center must be designed and operated in such a way as to ensure safe storage of data and uninterrupted operation (24/7/365). It is worth noting at this point that at the CL8 Data Center that we had visited, special reference was made to existing provisions and infrastructure in the event of fire and floods.

The Recovery and Resilience Plan

Speaking on the morning program “Proino Dromologio” of the Third Radio Program of RIK, Mr. Pantelis told the journalist Eleni Vretou in the context of the discussion about the leak, that through the Recovery and Resilience Plan, there is a program underway for the purchase of services from private Data Centers in Cyprus. Mr. Pantelis, however, did not elaborate further on this, but simply stated that the project “has not been abandoned”.

The Cyprus Recovery and Resilience Plan (which is part of the European Policy after the unprecedented crisis due to the Covid-19 pandemic) includes 75 investments and 58 reforms, which will be supported by grants of 1.006 billion euros and loans of 0.2 billion euros.

41% of the plan will support climate goals and 23% will promote digital transition. All reforms and investments must be implemented within a tight timeframe, as the Regulation on the Recovery and Resilience Mechanism stipulates that they must be completed by August 2026.

Also read: Open University of Cyprus | Serious cyberattack incident