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As PMCs are in cyberspace

Recently in Russia have begun to pay more attention to information security: in the Armed Forces created a unit of information operations troops, “Rostec” increased spending on protecting defense enterprises from hacker attacks, private military companies begin offering cybersecurity services (PMC), write Mikhail Khodarenko and Amalia Zattari on the pages “Newspapers”. However, there is an acute shortage of personnel in this area in the country., and young professionals prefer to leave for the West.

Russia is experiencing an acute shortage of personnel in the field of information security. The lack of such specialists is especially acute in the context of the increasing demand for information security in Russian ministries and other departments., stated the co-founder “Kaspersky Labs” and Natalya Kasperskaya, CEO of InfoWatch group of companies, at a round table at the International Military-Technical Forum “Army 2017”.

“I think, not worth reminding, how important is information security in the modern world. Personnel training in this area, in fact, is a feature of ensuring the sovereignty of the state”, - she noted.

Among the reasons for the shortage of personnel in the field of information security, Kaspersky named insufficient training in universities and the outflow of young Russian specialists to the West., the increase in which was influenced by the fall in the ruble exchange rate. In order to reduce this churn, According to the expert, an economic barrier should be introduced: so that a young specialist, in case of departure abroad, either had to pay for the received education in full, or work the required number of years at industry enterprises.

New snipers

Many Russian IT specialists go to work outside the public sector, and in commercial structures, and some, Kaspersky is convinced, recruit and willingly “taken under the wing” foreign intelligence services. She cited as an example the recent arrest in Greece of an IT specialist Alexander Vinnik, who is accused of embezzling four billion dollars. “It's not even technically clear how to do it.”, - said Kaspersky, assuming, that Vinnik's case is one of the ways of recruiting: the specialist in this case is offered an alternative - either 25 years in prison, or work for the relevant special services.

Information security threats themselves, According to the expert, have gone through three stages recently. 25–30 years ago, when computers first appeared, viruses were written by amateurs for their own entertainment. Then industrial hacker groups began to appear, kind “information mafia”. And in the last ten years, hacker threats have begun to appear from states - combat viruses are being developed, information attacks are massively carried out.

“It is necessary to maintain a register of specialists in the field of information security. They can be compared to snipers. Human, who can shoot well, is a real combat resource. Modern programmer, which can remotely fit into any operating system, this is the same combat resource”, - emphasized Kaspersky.

In theory, the roster of programmers can be a good personnel lift., says Arseny Shcheltsin, director for project activities at the Institute for Internet Development. But in practice, everything is different.: in Russia do not look at being in the registers, availability of special certificates and gratitude, and the key parameters for employers are knowledge of programming languages, key frameworks, as well as experience from completed projects, the expert.

“On the other hand, such a registry will be convenient for hunting from abroad. Imagine, we will make a showcase of the most expensive - our personnel. And use whatever you want, if you want - blame hacking, if you want - invite to work”,- he suggested.

In the West, the supply of work and the demand for Russian programmers are sometimes much higher, than we ourselves, noted Shcheltsin. In his opinion, to reduce the outflow of specialists abroad, foreign security competence centers should be opened in Russia, so that the deficit of high-paying jobs is compensated by foreign investors, in this case, these same specialists will not be oriented towards the West.

“As their careers grow, these specialists will move to Russian companies for higher positions or open their own Russian or international business.”, - he added.

“Now business and even the state understand, what, taking one step in technology, three more to do safely. Trusting the Internet of Things, blockchain or mobile technologies new powers to improve business processes, we find ourselves in a situation, when any mistake in security can put an end to these processes”, - said the interlocutor.

The demand for security employees is growing, new structures appear in state-owned companies and responsible leaders in government bodies. “Good example, increasing demand for security in mobile technology, - use of a Russian mobile secure operating system (Sailfish Mobile OS Rus) instead of the beloved Western Android and iOS”, - noted Shcheltsin.

Major of Russian Cyber ​​Troops

In mid-August, Secretary of the Russian Security Council Nikolai Patrushev announced the aggravation of confrontation in cyberspace. According to him, confrontation in this area has moved from demonstrating technological superiority to destructive information impact.

He also admitted, that under these conditions, the systems of Russian government bodies demonstrate their vulnerability to cyber attacks.

Despite the fact that the growth of cyber attacks has been repeatedly noted by officials from different countries, the involvement of state structures and special services in them at the official level is always refuted. “We have said many times, that absolutely there can be no question of any official involvement of any Russian department, including FSB, to any illegal actions in cyberspace”, - announced in March 2017 Press Secretary of the President of Russia Dmitry Peskov.

In January 2017 of the year “merchant” published the results of research of the international company Zecurion Analytics, according to which Russia entered the top five countries in terms of the number and funding of the so-called cyber troops, who are spying, cyberattacks and information wars. According to analysts and sources of the newspaper on the information security market, the number of Russian cyber troops is about a thousand people, for financing of which about 300 million dollars.

The first place in terms of spending on cyber troops was the United States (9 thousand. human, 7 billion a year), second - China (20 thousands of people, 1,5 billion a year). However, the State Duma in the same month said, that cyber troops do not exist in Russia.

For the first time, he announced the need to create a separate cyber command in the Russian army back in the spring 2012 , the Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin. Five years later, in February 2017 of the year, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu announced the creation of information operations troops in the Russian Armed Forces. Answering in the State Duma on the need to re-create management, counter-propaganda, the minister said, what “information troops created, which is much more efficient, stronger”, noting, what “propaganda must be smart, competent and efficient”.

17 August state corporation “Rostec” announced its intention to spend on cybersecurity 800 million rubles by the end of the year, What's on 16 percent more, a year earlier. specialists “anti-hacker system” “Rostec”, Detecting Corporate Center, prevention and elimination of the consequences of computer attacks (KCOPL), monitor anomalies in the work of computers of defense enterprises, prevent hackers from getting to important information and transfer their coordinates to the FSB, told the company. As reported on the website “Rostec”, over the past year, the system has identified more 200 such computer attacks.

Hackers make choices

Nowadays, information security threats often carry no less danger, than real attacks, however, not everyone takes them seriously at the moment., says the head of a Russian private military company (PMC) “RSB Group” Oleg Krynytsыn. “Everyone is used to, that the threat is a man with a gun. But now people with laptops are much more dangerous., than people with guns”, - he said.

In the words Krynytsыna, the company became the first Russian PMC, which, besides demining, protection of facilities and intelligence, also offers information security services. Cyber ​​unit in the composition “RSB Group” opened at the end of last year and is currently a unique similar structure in Russia - so far, only foreign PMCs are engaged in similar work.

“Computer crimes are becoming more powerful, and we are not ready for them”, - Krinitsyn noted. According to him, the activities of IT specialists within a private military company can be varied. It can be like protecting PMC clients from information threats and cyber attacks, and various anti-terrorist operations (attacks on terrorist-controlled resources, gaining access to their money accounts, etc.), as well as protecting customers from information threats and cyber attacks.

Krinitsyn did not specify, whether the company's IT specialists carry out any operations in the framework of the fight against terrorism, citing the strict secrecy of this activity. Once PMC received an order to interfere in the course of elections.

Krinitsyn did not disclose, from whom the order was received and the election process of which country was it proposed to influence, noting only, that it was not Russia.

According to him, at “RSB Group” refused to fulfill this order, since they work exclusively within the law.

As Krinitsyn told, now for the services of the cyber division of PMCs, mainly credit organizations apply: hackers by order of the bank attack information systems, identifying weaknesses in them, whose protection needs to be strengthened. The company does not engage in cyber attacks on the information systems of one organization ordered by its competitors., he added.

                          
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