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Russian security chief calls for cooperation on cyber threats

Russia calls for cooperation of all countries to counter cyber threats such as the recent global hacker attack using the WannaCry virus

ZAVIDOVO (Tver Region), May 24. /TASS/. Russia calls for cooperation of all world countries to counter cyber threats such as the recent global hacker attack using the WannaCry virus, Russian Security Council chief Nikolai Patrushev said on Wednesday.

The cyber attack on May 12 affected over 200,000 users from 150 countries. The hackers affected many international companies and world structures. The virus had been invented by high-level specialists, Patrushev told the 8th international meeting of high-level security officials in the Tver region, central European Russia.

"For countering such threats, all countries of the world need to cooperate closely in information security," Patrushev said.

According to the security chief, a major part of information systems of Russia’s state bodies, financial institutions and enterprises managed to register the attempts of virus penetration and avoid serious consequences.

"At the same time, only those structures were vulnerable, which failed to complete creating their segments of state detection system, prevention and elimination of the aftermath of computer attacks," he said.

Most attempts at infecting computers were registered in Russia. Computers of the Russian Emergencies Ministry, Interior Ministry, the Russian Railways company and one the country’s biggest banks, Sberbank, as well as the Megafon and Vympelcom mobile phone operators, were attacked. Russia’s Central Bank said in a statement that cyber attacks on the country’s banks had been registered which had not caused any damage.