Russian government websites are facing unprecedented cyber attacks and technical efforts are being made to filter out foreign web traffic, the TASS news agency quoted the digital ministry as saying on Thursday. Russian government agencies and state-owned entities, including the Kremlin’s website, flagship carrier Aeroflot and major lender Sberbank, have been targeted for events in Ukraine in recent weeks due to disruptions or temporary access issues.
The ministry is working to adapt to the new conditions, it said, due to cyber attacks.
“Earlier, if their power reached 500 gigabytes at the moment, now it is 1 terabyte,” the ministry said. “It’s two to three times more powerful than the most serious of its kind reported before.”
As Russia continues to disassociate itself from the global financial system and supply chain, the government has proposed various measures to support the IT sector, among others.
Technology companies will have access to preferential tax and lending terms, and the digital ministry has previously advised Russian IT companies to discuss the phased transfer of technical support components with foreign companies.
Citing draft government documents, Interfax reported late Wednesday that the digital ministry had proposed allocating 14 billion RUB (approximately Rs 1,000 crore) in grants to support IT companies.
Reuters could not immediately confirm the report.
Thomson Reuters 2022