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Over 90 million hacker attacks registered in Russian Internet since 2010

It is obvious that today we need to develop and implement a range of additional measures in the area of information security, Russian President Vladimir Putin says

MOSCOW, October 1 /TASS/. More than 90 million hacker attacks have been registered in the Russian segment of the Internet since 2010, Secretary of the Russian Security Council Nikolay Patrushev said on Wednesday. "There have been 57 million attacks since 2014 and approximately 90 million attacks since 2010,” Patrushev told journalists.

Russia's Security Council did not discuss nationalization of web domains, presidential aide Igor Shchyogolev said. “Nationalization of domains was not discussed as they are not our property,” he told journalists after at a meeting of Russia’s Security Council.

Patrushev explained that websites owned by Russia’s state bodies had been the most frequent targets for hackers. Most of those websites covered the Olympic Games in Sochi, as well as the events in Crimea and south-east Ukraine.

Patrushev added that a total of 3.3 million attacks had been registered in 2010. “Foreign security services are also active. We register the activities of extremist and terrorist organizations and criminal groups,” Patrushev noted.

On Wednesday, October 1, Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered measures to protect Internet’s Russian segment. “It is obvious that today we need to develop and implement a range of additional measures in the area of information security,” the head of state said. Such measures should focus on enhancing the protection of the Russian communication and information networks, primarily those used by government agencies, Putin said. It is important to ensure the stable and safe operation of the Russian segment of the Internet, the president noted.

Putin has confirmed that websites with illegal content will be closed down. “We shall be acting systematically and in strict compliance with the law and close down such sites (with prohibited content),” Putin said on Wednesday. However, Russia will not limit access to Internet and subject it to control, he stressed.