Earlier in March, Russian internet users faced widespread outages that regulators attributed to issues with “foreign server infrastructure.” However, local experts suggested the disruptions stemmed from Russia’s blocking of Cloudflare, a U.S.-based service that helps websites stay secure, load faster and remain accessible during cyberattacks. Last year, hackers leaked 286 million unique Russian phone numbers and 96 million email addresses, with the financial sector leading in the volume of exposed data, according to local experts. Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law Monday aimed at protecting citizens from cyber fraud, as financial cybercrime reportedly reached record levels in the country. Around the same time, the chief executive of state telecom giant Rostelecom said that the personal data of all Russian citizens had been compromised and leaked online. Sberbank, one of the country's largest financial institutions, estimated that around 90% of Russian users' data had been affected by the breaches. In 2024, fraudsters stole a record 27.5 billion rubles ($300 million) from Russian bank accounts, marking a 74.4% increase from the previous year, according to the country’s central bank. In response to these growing threats, Putin signed a law in November to increase both administrative and criminal penalties for data breaches and the illegal circulation of personal data. Lawmakers argue that these measures are necessary as cyber fraud and personal data leaks continue to rise across Russia. Russia’s crackdown on foreign tech services aligns with the Kremlin’s policy of digital isolation, pushing local companies to migrate to state-controlled infrastructure. The legislation, among other things, prohibits the use of foreign messaging apps for communication by state institutions, banks and major digital platforms with over 500,000 daily users. Russian lawmakers blamed large-scale data leaks as a major factor fueling cybercrime. Over the past year, Russian financial institutions also faced an increasing number of cyberattacks. The Bank of Russia received more than 750 reports from credit institutions regarding cyber incidents, with distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks being the most prevalent. The Kremlin has increasingly sought to tighten control over Russia’s digital ecosystem, purportedly amid growing concerns over cyber threats and geopolitical tensions.
This Cyber News was published on therecord.media. Publication date: Tue, 01 Apr 2025 15:30:11 +0000