Putin promises to bolster Russia's IT security in face of cyber attacks
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[May 21, 2022] (Reuters)
-President Vladimir Putin said on Friday
that the number of cyber attacks on Russia by foreign "state structures"
had increased several times over and that Russia must bolster its cyber
defences by reducing the use of foreign software and hardware.
The websites of many state-owned companies and news websites have
suffered sporadic hacking attempts since Russia sent its armed forces
into Ukraine on Feb. 24, often to show information that is at odds with
Moscow's official line on the conflict.
"Targeted attempts are being made to disable the internet resources of
Russia's critical information infrastructure," Putin said, adding that
media and financial institutions had been targeted.
"Serious attacks have been launched against the official sites of
government agencies. Attempts to illegally penetrate the corporate
networks of leading Russian companies are much more frequent as well,"
he said.
In a meeting with the Security Council, Putin said that Russia would
need to improve information security in key sectors and switch to using
domestic technology and equipment.
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"Restrictions on foreign IT, software and products have become one of
the tools of sanctions pressure on Russia," Putin said. "A number of
Western suppliers have unilaterally stopped technical support of their
equipment in Russia."
He said cases of programmes getting blocked after being updated were
becoming more frequent.
DATA LEAKS
State communications regulator Roskomnadzor on Wednesday said it had
blocked a website that was hosting the personal data of a number of
companies' clients. It did not name the companies.
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![](../images/052122pics/busine47.jpg)
Russian President Vladimir Putin watches a military parade on
Victory Day, which marks the 77th anniversary of the victory over
Nazi Germany in World War Two, in Red Square in central Moscow,
Russia May 9, 2022. Sputnik/Mikhail Metzel/Pool via REUTERS
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Russia's second-biggest bank VTB was quoted by media as saying some customers'
phone numbers had been leaked but there was no risk to their funds.
E-commerce player Wildberries and online marketplace Avito denied reports in
Russian media that their data had been leaked.
A data leak in early March exposed the personal details of more than 58,000
people on tech giant Yandex's food delivery app, Yandex.Eda.
Yandex.Eda competitor Delivery Club on Friday apologised to users after it
suffered a data leak on orders placed by users.
"The data includes information about orders and does not affect bank details. We
are doing our best to prevent the dissemination of the data," TASS news agency
quoted the company as saying.
Hacking attacks this month kept video-hosting site RuTube offline for three days
and altered satellite television menus in Moscow on Victory Day, when Russia
celebrated the 77th anniversary of the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany.
Moscow has long sought to improve its domestic internet infrastructure, even
disconnecting itself from the global internet during tests last summer.
However, the unprecedented Western barrage of sanctions imposed in response to
Moscow's military campaign in Ukraine has increased the pressure to make
Russia's IT systems more resilient.
(Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Kevin Liffey)
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