Cybersecurity is one of the key challenges of the modern world. Moreover, it is not easy to distinguish between victims and aggressors. The same “world stronghold of democracy”, the United States of America, constantly accuses Russia and China of encroaching on their virtual well-being, but at the same time they themselves behave on the Internet from a position of strength, cynically, disregarding the law, twisting the arms of both enemies and partners. What is the purpose? The experts discussed in the open studio of the Komsomolskaya Pravda media group, located on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.
“LEAD EXTREMELY ANGLING”
One of the last eloquent stories. A year ago, the Australian government announced that it plans to develop a Code of Conduct to regulate the monetization and revenue sharing of local news on the Internet. In mid-February 2021, the document went to the federal parliament, and three days later, Facebook blocked all content from Australia. Even the pages of some official departments of the Green Continent were left without news.
“American transnational companies behave extremely arrogantly, they put themselves above the laws of any states,” said Alexander Malkevich, First Deputy Chairman of the Public Chamber of Russia Commission on Mass Media, General Director of the Saint Petersburg TV channel. – The most striking example happened in January. The then-current President of the United States, Donald Trump, lost his Twitter account, despite the fact that he had 88 million subscribers. The most powerful man in the world could do nothing against such a private company as Twitter. “
In Russia, YouTube refuses to remove content that violates our laws. Censors domestic videos. Moreover, it is guided by some of its own difficult to explain logic, sending content to the ban, for example, related to the demonstration of the heroism of Soviet soldiers during the Great Patriotic War …
“Americans are trendsetters and impose their rules of the game on the whole world,” said Valery Zhuravel, a leading researcher at the Institute of Europe of the Russian Academy of Sciences. – Is the country something that does not suit America? Immediately they put forward demands: you do not have the right to connect to telecommunication networks, we prohibit you from using American applications, remove applications that do not fully take into account the security interests of the United States of America. Even cloud services where content is stored are regulated. And there are many such examples! “
PRESSURE ON CHINA
Recently, the United States has been trying to extend its influence over Chinese Internet projects. In 2020, Washington began to suspect that the harmless Tik-Tok app, where teenagers fool around on camera, was a threat to US national security. The United States Department of Commerce has confirmed plans to block the download of Chinese Tik-Tok apps or chats on its territory. Although the investigation of the European Commission for the Protection of Information showed that the same Tik-Tok collects no more user data than Facebook or Instagram.
“This is both business and politics. But, probably, there are more politicians here, – says Valery Zhuravel. – Why is the US Internet company behaving arrogantly? Because they are supported by the United States government, which uses them to lobby for their interests. State interests, ”the expert specified.
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“There is, of course, a bit of conspiracy here. As a political scientist, I can prove in a few minutes that the Internet was invented in the United States specifically to enslave us all. It is possible that there will be a grain of truth in this, – said Alexander Malkevich. – But seriously speaking, I believe that transnational financial forces are behind the global Internet services, so, excuse me, they behave so boldly. For many years they taught us that life without these services is impossible. And now they just start to blackmail. This is what we in the Public Chamber called the term “digital murder of a person.” That is, if tomorrow they delete your account from 3-4 of their platforms, you will simply disappear. We are lucky in Russia, we have at least an alternative – Telegram, Odnoklassniki, VKontakte. “
Moreover, the world already has a fairly large number of well-known experts who, like Donald Trump, have lost their pages on social networks. In fact, they were deprived of their vote, infringed on their rights without any court decision. Part of the community applauds these decisions with enthusiasm and enthusiastically indulges! Say, this is a private business and their private business to whom to give the right to vote. But the roundtable participants believe that the next step can be the formation of a picture of the day: John Jones won the election – Steve Stevenson will be announced. And no one will notice the substitution, because an alternative opinion, even on the Internet, is no longer welcome. The whole world reading social networks will say – oh, look, life is getting better there, Stevens came to power, and the country is being democratized by volunteers who have come from a neighboring country. Although, in fact, a war began in the country …
IS THE WHOLE WORLD “GROUNDING” AMERICA?
The United States is acting quite shamelessly even with its partners, odd as it may sound. The Clean Web Project, initiated by the United States government, includes five strategies against other countries. US efforts include creating clean networks with clean telecommunications equipment, keeping online stores, apps, clouds, and even cable clean. Of course, it looks rather strange. And the results are also quite curious. For example, German President Steinmeier called on EU states to pay close attention to the dangers of Internet fragmentation caused by US technological hegemony.
“Individual states are trying to resist the United States. In the same Germany, since 2018, the Law for Improving the Rights of Social Network Users has been in effect. Turkey passed a law on the landing of foreign companies last year. In France, such a law is now being developed, in the UK. They demand that social networks and large IT corporations live and work in these countries in accordance with local laws, – said Alexander Malkevich. “Nobody wants to wake up in 2024 and understand that they did not feed their information army, so they are now feeding someone else's.”
What should Russia do in this situation? Of course, to pump your own information muscles: train qualified personnel, create your own programs and services, and also unite with partner countries.
“They spit on the laws of states and force all of us to act together,” sums up Alexander Malkevich. – The other day the State Duma of Russia in the first reading adopted a law on the so-called landing of Western IT corporations. This is absolutely logical, because if conditional Twitter has millions of subscribers here, it must work in Russia and, according to our laws, have a legal entity here – a representative office headed by a citizen of the Russian Federation and interacting with our authorities to protect the digital rights of our citizens. Of course, the internet giants don't like this. They would like to siphon profits and do not care about user rights. But this cannot continue with impunity. “
“LEARN YOURSELF AND TEACH CHILDREN”
Is Russia ready for change? They go constantly. A few days ago, the EnergyNet cybersecurity expert group published a report that most IT companies in Russia would like to optimize and complement information security regulation. In particular, we are talking about the laws on personal data and the security of information infrastructure.
“Some of the laws are adopted a little later than expected. Some of the laws at the time of adoption are a little crude, they do not contain by-laws, some points are not disclosed, and sometimes double interpretation is allowed. Often the law is adopted, but no sanctions are specified for non-implementation, so some market participants continue to violate it, – explained Mikhail Pribochiy, managing director in Russia, the CIS and the Baltic states of Kaspersky Lab. – But the state has feedback from the market and is trying to solve problems. Therefore, all those shortcomings that I have listed, they are either closed or are being closed. “
Sberbank reports that in 2021 the number of cyberattacks on the bank has quadrupled. The expert noted that this is more than the average for the banking sector.
“At the beginning of last year, we went to work, studied in universities, schools – since the beginning of the pandemic, we did all this from home. That is, we found ourselves in an unfamiliar situation, while the attackers worked remotely and continue to do so. It became easier for them to go about their business and the number of frauds increased, – says Mikhail Pribochiy. – Currently, Kaspersky Lab examines from 350 to 400 thousand unique malicious objects per day. Banks are an area where big money is spinning, tasty prey for intruders. More attacks against banks have increased in related financial sectors and online stores. “
We all know how to behave in the real world. During a pandemic, wash your hands more often and wear a mask. From childhood, we teach children not to talk to strangers, especially if they offer candy and take a ride in the car. But digital hygiene is not taught at home or at school. And is it important!
“Learn for yourself and teach your children. There are a lot of free resources for this, including kids.Kaspersky.ru, – advises Mikhail Pribochiy. – Be sure to use antivirus software so as not to become easy prey for intruders. The phone is considered to be a friend, but in fact it can become a tool for hackers. 80% of unfamiliar calls are spam. Install a program on your phone that will categorize incoming calls with advertisements and scammers. We have a free program that physically tracks a child's location on their phone. The child has gone beyond the permitted limits – the parent will receive a signal. Use site categorization and search terms where your child goes. And, as a matter of fact, pay attention to their friends: if too old friends appear, the parent can see it. And most importantly, communicate more with your child, maintain a trusting relationship. All this can simplify our life. “
