KURGAN, March 3. /TASS/. Russia’s data systems are insufficiently protected from cyberattacks, Secretary of the national Security Council Nikolai Patrushev said at a Council’s meeting held in the city of Kurgan.

"Data systems need more protection from cyberattacks as the current security level in many cases fails to live up to threats," he said. 

The number of external cyber attacks on Russia’s information resources in 2016 rose more than 3-fold reaching 52.5 mln: 

"In general, last year more than 52.5 mln of external computer attacks on Russia’s information system were identified and neutralized. For comparison - in 2015 the figure totaled 14.4 mln," Patrushev said

At the same time, Patrushev noted that 'the security of computer information systems from computer attacks and computer intelligence remains insufficient and in most cases does not correspond to the existing threats."

Head of Sberbank Herman Gref said earlier during a press conference in TASS that the share of cybercrime in the financial sector reached 98.5% in 2016. In addition, despite the fact that the number of cybercrimes is estimated at millions, the number of convictions for such acts does not exceed a few dozen people, Head of Sberbank said. According to him, this is due to an acute shortage of specialists with the necessary competence in the financial sector, as well as imperfection of the regulatory framework.

Representative of the Cybercrime Department of the Russian Interior Ministry Alexander Vurasko said earlier in an interview with TASS that the number of cybercrimes in the financial sector is increasing annually by 20 - 30%.