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Russian diplomat warns about risks of false flag operations in cyberspace

According to Artur Lyukmanov, "the international information space is living hard times"

MOSCOW, December 2. /TASS/. Politicians in a number of countries neglect technical expertise in the field of information and communications technology, which can lead to false-flag acts of sabotage, Acting Director of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Department of International Information Security Artur Lyukmanov said on Friday.

In an address to a United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR) conference in Geneva, the diplomat pointed out that international cooperation in the field of information and communications technology should be based "on strengthening mutual trust between governments grounded on the knowledge and recommendations of specialists, rather than opportunistic considerations of politicians."

"Unfortunately, the latter, in some countries, more and more often neglect technical expertise. Such an approach is dangerous, it can lead to direct confrontation between countries amidst anonymity in information space, which allows for perpetrating acts of sabotage under a ‘false flag’," Lyukmanov noted.

According to him, "the international information space is living hard times." "Private companies have shown their inability to guarantee users’ protection from malicious activities. There is growing evidence that many developers, especially large companies in developed countries, are capitalizing on device flaws and growing user dependency on ICTs," the Russian diplomat added.

"There are reasons to believe that we will see a new treaty in 2024," Lyukmanov emphasized.