The arrested top-manager of Kaspersky Lab explained how Russian authorities are recruiting cybercriminals
The top manager of the Kaspersky Lab, Ruslan Stoyanov, who is now in a Moscow pre-trial prison (SIZO) on charges of state treason, said that Russian authorities are recruiting cybercriminals to carry out tasks ordered by the state.
As payment they are offered protection from investigations against them by the special services, Dozhd TV reported citing Stoyanov's letters.
"Lately, there have been signs of an effort 'to make patriots' out of Russian-speaking cybercriminals, by attempting to reach agreements between cybercriminals and state officials. The essence of the deal is that the state gets access to their technologies and information in exchange for permission to steal information from abroad with impunity," Stoyanov said.
In another letter, he warns about the dangers of such a partnership.
"The worst case scenario is to give cybercriminals immunity for stealing money in other countries in exchange for intelligence. If this happens, a whole new class of "patriot-thieves" will appear, who are violating the principles of the rule of law and the inevitability of punishment," Stoyanov writes.
According to him, faced with difficulties in attacking international financial organizations, hackers, will "throw away the whole patriotic fervor, and turn their attention to attacking Russian institutions. We will get a new wave of crimes in Russia," Stoyanov warns.
Stoyanov was arrested in late December. He, along with the head of one of the divisions of the FSB’s Information Security Center, Sergey Mikhailov and his deputy, Dmitry Dokuchaev, are accused of state treason. Stoyanov is the head of Kaspersky Lab's Computer Incidents Investigation Team, which cooperates with law enforcement agencies.