MOSCOW, February 16. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday he is worried over aggravating threats to global security.
"In the past year, the situation in the world did not become more stable or better. On the contrary, many of the existing challenges and threats only aggravated," he said at a board meeting of the Federal Security Services (FSB). "Military political and economic rivalry between global and regional policy makers, individual states sharpened."
"Requirements to the quality and effectiveness of your work are growing," the president said.
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He cited the situation in a number of the Middle East, Asian and African countries, "where sanguinary conflicts involving international terrorist groups continue," as an example of the global escalation. "As a matter of fact, these are terrorist armies receiving concealed or even open support from certain states," he noted.
Computer attacks
Computer attacks against Russian government information resources grew threefold year-on-year in 2016, Putin said.
Improvement of the official secrets protection system is on the agenda, particularly in conditions of institutional transition to the electronic turnover of documents, the President said. "The number of computer attacks against official government information resources rose threefold last year in comparison to 2015," the head of state said. "Departmental segments of the state system of detection, warning and response to consequences of computer attacks against information resources should be developed" in view of that, Putin added.
Terrorism-related crimes
Putin praised the country’s security services for their efforts to bring down the number of terrorism-related crimes.
"The Federal Security Service along with other law enforcement agencies under coordination of the National Anti-terrorist Committee prevented 45 terrorism-related crimes, including 16 terrorist attacks," Putin said.
"A special thanks to you for that," he said.
Putin also noted that the activity of almost 440 foreign special services’ agents and staff was thwarted in Russia last year.
"Last year, the activity of 53 staff and 386 agents of foreign special services was foiled," Putin said, stressing importance to "neutralize attempts of foreign special services of getting access to classified data, primarily in military and technical potential of the country."