Just had a quick question. I am planning out runs for my campaign, and I kinda hit a snag. I want to do ye olde datasteal but . . . well it's just kinda boring. I mean, sure, people get in, steal data, get out, try not to trip any alarms. That's all well and good, but it's actually not exciting. I need a couple plot twists to spice it up. Here is the general gist of the run (without giving too much away, in case my players are bad and sneak a peak.)

The plot (which connects to the major, overarching plot) involves stealing some data from an office building with moderate-level security. The data is stored on a closed network that needs to be accessed by hardline (thus, the hacker needs to be on-site.) There will be no betrayal by the employer on this run. Now, of course, I can set difficulties for bypassing the security system, the locks, making sure they don't alert the guards, and hacking the Node, but so far, that's just setting up an obsticale course, and letting the PCs run it. I wanna throw them at least one curve ball every session. So, any suggestions?

Have a run-in with another team that's chosen the same day to do the same data extraction via a different corp. IE: You're guys are hired by Mitsuhama to extract from Ares, and some guys hired by Evo show up to extract the same data. Kinda an "open the door, see other people who are doing the same thing you are, take a second..." thing.

Have it possible to like both copy the data or something with a good enough Etiquette/Negotiation Test. And the fun part would be having both groups get in, meet each other, come to terms with each other, then get out, without tripping the security.

you could also have the programmer there working late when the players arrive to steal the data. And if you really want to get creative you could have the programmer be a paracritter or some such per the running wild... some ferret programmer whose body is asleep in a nest nearby but hard to notice lol. Tons of options.

You also said the building was medium security... perhaps another shadowrun team (like one described in the above poster's comment) is breaking in to a place nearby, but not the same building and perhaps they hire some gangers to cause a distraction at the place the PC's are at while they are inside... then it becomes a race against time as security is on alert and cops are en route to deal with the gangers...

Have the target corp have some method of tracking the data after it has been stolen (worm in the files, nanites, stealth tags) and send a retrieval team to get the data back. Spring an ambush on the players when the go to make the drop off with their Mr. Johnson (I did this once, players don't often expect an attack at the drop-off). If their Mr. Johnson is killed, they'll be in a pickle: what do we do with the data now? Or if their Mr. Johnson survives, have him refuse contact with the group until their lose their "tail."

Another option would be to involve some sort of "social" element with an employee of the target corp. Perhaps they steal the data but Mr. Johnson finds it unintelligible and needs them to extract the head researcher to interpret it, or have the team get the researcher to interpret it without extracting him/her. Or have the data be unexpectedly missing because the head researcher decided to take it home and work on it there for the weekend or something.
(Don't laugh, this actually happened to a company in the city where I live. Some guy took home the hard drive with the database on it, but didn't tell anyone. The company issued a press release saying the data had been stolen, which caused a ruckus because it contained the private info of a lot of people. Eventually the dude had to come clean. It was a big mess.)

I considered suggesting this, but I think a shadowmeet inside/during a run would be a lot more... Complicated.

Start from the end. Have the run start wrong, the players have the data but everything has gone to hell. Several PC's are seriously wounded, all of them are low on Ammo, and supplies. Have them relentlessly pursued by both Corporate Security and local authorities.

It's not a gimmick I'd run frequently, but it's a fun mixer.

I've had this general problem (solid plot, but boring and flat) with a campaign I was running. The solution, I found, is to listen to crazy punk music, get all mad and pumped up, and daydream about explosions.

As a warning, not every group is going to go for this. If you've been playing a more cinematic game prior to this point it'll probably fly ok, but if your group is even remotely wary about stuff that could be potential railroading this is just going to be a disaster.

if you absolutely want to start them in the middle, I'd recommend having them "inherit" the traced data from a contact as he tries to ditch it to a 'safe place' unaware that it's the data drawing the heat and not him, (Enemy of the State was kind of like this.) This lets you start with them in possession of the data and already trailed, but without the GM fiat 'you screwed up' choo-choo trains in the background.

Yeah, like I said it's a gimmick best not abused.

Hate to be boring, but Dramatic Encryption on the data.

Or, you're not stealing data from the Corp. It's being securely transported, and you have to heist it along the way.

They don't want the data, they want to write the project off for an insurance claim. It has high-rating Corrupt bombs on it.

The Johnson is from LA and wants them to wear SimRigs, broadcasting with a 2m 30s delay. He will not take no for an answer.

The data is missing, but a prototype popped out the fabber earlier. It's currently being put through tests. Inside of someone.

The target isn't a corp, the target is one of the Rings.

The data is stored in dead tree format. It extends to 50 volumes, or more. The Johnson hasn't a clue.

These are Two good ideas that I would combine to create something a bit more interesting or amusing.

Your runners get through security; make it to the target room, the hacker gets into the system and discovers there is no file of the name you are looking for. He checks a few other stand alone computers with no joy. Just then one of the runners notices a huge pile of paperwork with an old fashioned red stamp on the cover. It’s the file they are looking for and it’s huge. Johnston truly is a dork.

Just then the other team arrive. They can talk or fight. The runners may convince them they are only here for some old hardcopy stuff and to help themselves to the computers, escaping with the files before they catch on. Fight it out, but the pile of files starts to get shot up and they have to come to a compromise, wasn’t that a photo copy room you seen at the end of the hall chummer

Just a few ideas that I've thrown into my campagins (may or may not have been mentioned already)
-If their job is to delete the data as well, when they get it on the server have it log that someone just made a copy of it 2 hours ago. Make it an important resercher/ex either backing up the data as per rutine on his datalock or trying to steal the data himself.
-Intresting for any run, have the place have hired Locksmith™ securty, a privatly owned securty detail that deals in personal securty that focuses on a less than lethal bases. "Twice as effective, Twice as safe" Have securty detail outfitted with tazers, Gelround shotguns and have securty checkpoints riddled with LTL traps.
- A second team from another corp is always a good one.
- Especially if the other team has a seperate objective, the players are their for the data, but someone else is their for wetwork.'
- The team is stealing the data from johnson's corp, theirs a aduit or report to upstairs about to happen, they want to keep the data but they don't want the auditers/higher-rungs to find out what they were working on.

If this is a relatively new group, don't overcomplicate things; sometimes a rabbit is just a rabbit. But you can do little things to spice it up:

* They learn from hacking that in the target room, there is a Security Measure. They can't find anything about what it is. Just that it cost 2,999,999.95 nuyen.
Watch how they worry about what it might be. Pick any of the ideas they think of that you like, and make that be true.

* There is other interesting data in the facility that might catch their interest. It's security is much more heavy, and they're not prepared for it. Will they go for it? It might be: [The real story of another run they went on], [The Very Secret Johnson Diaries], [Bleeding-Edge Research into Something Nasty], [A Treasure Map] or something else cute.

Sometimes it's not about the curveball, it's about the anticipation thereof. Include a few throw-away events and npc's that are just there to make the players go "what's that evil GM planning?" and watch them do your work for you. Paranoia isn't just a survival method, sometimes it is a plot device.