NEW DELHI, November 24. /TASS/.Russia and India stand for boosting cooperation in the information security field, Russian Presidential Envoy for information security cooperation Andrei Krutskikh told reporters following the Global Conference on Cyber Space held in the Indian capital of New Delhi.
"India is one of our key partners," he said. "Our stance on these issues is very similar to that of other BRICS member states. We believe that rather than resolve emerging conflicts, the focus should be put on ways to prevent conflicts concerning the use of information and communication technologies and continue the UN-sponsored talks on drawing up the rules of behavior in this sphere, we are all for preventing interference in domestic affairs of states and building a reliable information security system," he said.
The Russian presidential envoy added that the Indian participants addressing the conference, which involved 120 countries, had pointed to the almost complete identity of views on cyber security between New Delhi and Moscow.
Damage from cyber attacks
"Issues concerning information security and the use of information and communication technologies are among current global priorities," Krutskikh went on to say. "There is total anarchy in this field, as there are hackers and some states that seek to use these technologies for military purposes, particularly for interfering in the domestic affairs of other countries. According to various countries, more than 120 states have already held drills aimed at preparing for cyber wars. And you know what, this process should be stopped before it’s too late and a real tragedy occurs," the Russian presidential envoy noted.
He added that the yearly damage caused by cyber attacks all over the world was estimated at several trillion dollars.
"As our president said at the Federal Security Service’s board meeting last year, more than 70 million cyber attacks on Russia’s state facilities are recorded every year. These are not just simple attacks, they are attempts at finding our soft spots," Krutskikh stressed.
According to him, not only Russia and the United States suffer from such actions, but other countries as well, while a thing to note is that it is an offensive tactic.
"We have been constantly countering hacking attacks and prevent the harmful use of information technologies. Banks and vital infrastructure facilities are affected by that. Our planet stands on the brink of a new era, as robotics are rapidly evolving, chips are implanted in human bodies, there are unmanned vehicles and blockchain technology… But all these fields need information security to be ensured, so we all need to make agreements and outline the rules of the game," the Russian presidential envoy stressed.