Mikhail Mishustin’s video address to participants in the CyberPolygon 2020 online international cybersecurity exercise
Ladies and gentlemen,
2020 has changed the world. The new coronavirus impacted the lives of hundreds of millions of people, private companies and government agencies. This spring saw an almost fivefold increase in the number of Russians working remotely. Many of them will continue to operate out of their homes even after the pandemic is over.
Self-isolation made us even more dependent on digital. Undisrupted digital delivery of public services has become of principal importance. This is why our priority is focused towards ensuring the digital safety of our people.
In the last decades our digital reliance progressed as public and private operators increasingly used digital technologies to improve their efficiency. Development of Internet led to openness and interconnectivity thus multiplying the benefits from using digital technologies. However the same technologies have exposed human society to new threats.
Malicious actors are increasingly innovative. Geopolitical tentions extend to digital environment adding States to list of possible digital security threat sources. Security researchers are repeatedly identifying sophisticated malware specially designed to disrupt critical functions and cause physical damage to industries and infrastructure. According to the OECD these threats are pressing governments to adopt policies that strengthen digital security of critical activities without undermining the benefits from digital transformation in critical sectors that would unnecessarily restrict the use and openness of digital technology.
The national-level action plan of our Government aimed at supporting the post-crises recovery of the Russian economy is based on increasing digitalization of economy and government. We will drastically increase the number of available digital public services and introduce fundamentally new support measures for digital businesses.
In this context, one of the most essential tasks is to ensure the protection of cyberspace.
This spring, we witnessed a rise in cybercriminal activity. Over 90% of successful cybercrime attacks are conducted using social engineering. Criminals charge their attacks using phishing e-mails and caller ID spoofing, putting our citizens off guard.
In cooperation with Russian IT security companies, the government is working on improving awareness of cyber risks and threats among our people. Thanks to the joint efforts, we managed to address a conciderable amount of issues however, many problems still require our attention.
Another current challenge for all global economies is confidential data theft.
Therefore we pay special attention to improving data security. Russia has developed a common national system for identifying and prevention of cyberattacks with government agencie’s information systems linked into this system.
We introduced strict protocols to secure connection of schools and other social institutions to Internet network. Secure networks environments are being created to connect educational, healthcare and social protection institutions.
The entire international community has to stand together to prevent global “cyberfraud pandemic”. Promoting international cooperation is an area of key focus of our joint efforts to ensure digital security and provide a common response to cyber crime.
Our country is a leader in technology development. Russian digital security solutions are successfully presented at international markets. The Government is providing grants to support development and pilot implementation of such promising technologies as quantum cryptography. We also appreciate the importance of international knowledge exchange and are ready to share our developments with our partners. Ensuring security of our common future requires open and balanced dialog, and we are open to cooperation.
I am therefore pleased to see the leaders of large international organizations including the World Economic Forum and Interpol, as well as the CEOs of global corporations from a wide range of industries and countries at this event. This training is another step in creating a trusted digital environment and fostering open dialog to discuss even the most challenging cybersecurity issues.
Let me wish success to all the participants of the Cyber Polygon training and I thank you for your good work. Today, you are making your contribution to building a more secure digital world and safer future for all of us. Thank you!
