Jakarta. The launch of Indonesia's National Data Center (PDN) 2 in Surabaya, originally planned for October 2024, faces delays due to budget constraints, Deputy Minister of Communications and Informatics Nezar Patria announced. The center, designed to support cloud services for 53 government institutions and manage over 11,000 virtual assets, requires a budget of Rp 542 billion (35.75 million), but funding remains uncertain.

"The data center needs a total of Rp 542 billion for 2024, but only Rp 257 billion has been secured so far. For 2025, only Rp 27 billion is available, or 5.6 percent of the required budget of Rp 486 billion," Nezar said on Monday. "This funding gap jeopardizes the October 2024 operational target."

The  temporary data center was hit by a ransomware attack in June, temporarily crippling essential government services, including passport issuance and school registration. The hackers, using a ransomware variant called Brain Cipher, demanded $8 million to restore the compromised data. Despite the breach, Patria confirmed that full recovery of public services was achieved by Aug. 25, with all affected data decrypted.

Temporary National Data Center Recovers 90 Pct of Services After June Cyberattack

He added that security assessments have been completed, and the National Cyber and Encryption Agency (BSSN) is currently validating the facility to ensure compliance with data security standards. While 16 out of 18 cybersecurity recommendations have been implemented, two related to cryptographic services and backup systems are still in progress.

Efforts to improve PDN 2’s infrastructure, including system architecture, backup environments, and user training, are ongoing, but funding challenges persist.

Meanwhile, construction of National Data Center 1 in Cikarang, West Java is nearing completion, with 83 percent of the project finished as of mid-September. Full operations for PDN 1 are expected by January 2025, following a testing phase later this year.

Nezar emphasized the need for collaboration and financial support to ensure the smooth operation of the national data centers, which are crucial to Indonesia's digital transformation.