Russia lost 95% of its cybersecurity specialists after the invasion of Ukraine

Russia faces a critical situation in terms of cybersecurity. According to reports, there is currently a very limited number of specialists capable of defending themselves against possible risks in this area.

Sberbank, Russia’s largest bank, recently announced that they estimate there are only about 5,000 cybersecurity professionals left in the country. Meanwhile, according to the same sources, Russia needs 100,000 experts in this field to ensure the normal functioning of all computer and online systems.

Cybersecurity crisis in Russia, another consequence of the war

The deputy chairman of the board of directors of the Russian bank Sberbank, Stanislav Kuznetsov, announced this information during a public event at the Eastern Economic Forum, a key international platform for establishing and strengthening ties within the Russian and global investment communities. Also, he stressed that the country must take the necessary initiatives to rectify the situation. If these estimates are correct, it is practically impossible to increase the number of cybersecurity professionals in the short term simply with “operational” staff.

“Cyber ​​protection centers are the bulwarks against attacks by cybercriminals and, first and foremost, they must work with software made in Russia. Sber has established a cyber protection center with 90% of solutions developed by Sber. However, throughout the country these centers are scarce: we only count five. I would like to see many more”Kuznetsov said.

The top executive of the Russian bank emphasized that Russian critical infrastructure facilities must use only Russian-made solutions by 2025, including cyber security systems. Although there are already advances in the matter, there are two areas: the protection of the cloud and the protection of high-load systems, which require a special approach and the participation of government institutions, since there are still no corporate solutions available in Russia at all. a competitive level.

An earlier source, citing the president of the Russian Association for Electronic Communications (RAEC), reported that between February and March, between 50,000 and 70,000 IT workers left Russia. The RAEC also estimates that by the spring of 2022, the total number of IT workers leaving the country could increase by another 100,000.

Meanwhile, Mikhail Mishustin, Russia’s prime minister, said that more than 80% of IT professionals had returned to his country by May. Russia is trying various means to persuade those who left the country because of the war to return.