Page 5 - bne_Tech_06_2020

Top Stories
June 2020 www.intellinews.com I Page 5
approved by other involved government agencies, but, most likely, it will be adopted.
Private data under threat
Over the last few years, leakages of private data have become a real issue that needs to be dealt with.
According to the cybersecurity firm InfoWatch, in 2019, the number of private data leakages increased by 40% from the previous year.
And more recently the situation has gotten worse as many companies have switched to remote work due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) lockdown. As
a result, company employees often work in an unprotected environment, making it easier for perpetrators to get hold of private data handled
as part of companies' operations.
Ashot Oganesyan, founder and CTO of computer security firm DeviceLock, was quoted by Kommersant as saying that the number of hacking incidents involving private data has increased by 50% since the first lockdown measures were introduced in mid-March.
According to Oganesyan, attempts to illegally copy customer databases account for 30% of all incidents.
Expert opinions diverge
Some experts have questioned the idea of a drastic increase in fines for private data leakage.
The proposal for a dramatic hike in fines
without detailed regulations in the area of data confidentiality and without a transitional period during which operators would be able to adopt new procedures for private data protection, raises many questions, Yekaterina Portman, head of Deloitte Legal CIS, was quoted as saying by Kommersant.
“This measure would be premature and inhuman, especially in the context of the country's overall economic situation, which is deteriorating due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic,” Portman believes.
However, other observers disagreed. The RUB500,000 fine would be too high only for small businesses, but for major organization it would be nothing but a "small nuisance," Irina Gudkova, director of the legal department of the Commercial Bank of Moscow, was quoted as saying by Kommersant, adding that companies of that kind would be more concerned about reputational damage.
Meanwhile, some experts even said that the proposed fines could be too low to stop perpetrators from leaking private data.
Alexander Zhuravlev, head of the commission for legally supporting digital economy at the Association of Russian lawyers, told Kommersant that, for instance, on the darknet, data bases are offered for much higher prices than the proposed fines.
According to DeviceLock data, a database of
a bank's retail customers with 150,000 entries was offered on the darknet last year for roughly RUB10.5mn ($152,000).
According to Zhuravlev, fines for data leakages should be comparable to those for private data storage outside Russia, currently set at between RUB6mn and RUB18mn ($86,000 to $260,000).
Over the last few years, private data leakages from major Russian companies have been reported.
In 2017, data of 17,000 individuals was leaked from the Russian pension fund. In early 2019, major cell phone operator Beeline confirmed that data of its 2mn customers had been leaked. Later the same year, Russian Railways reported a leakage of data for 700,000 of its customers.
Since the beginning of this year, the liquor store chain Krasnoye i Beloye and the federal customs services have suffered major data leakages, amongst many others.