This week, Ukraine adopted a new infosec doctrine against Russian propaganda; Russia confirmed having ‘cyber troops’; Kyrgyzstan to open anti-cyber threat analytical center; Azerbaijan presented national navigation system; Tajikistan restricts youth from using internet cafes at nights; Kazakhstan works on the mechanism for IMEI registration.
1. President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko approved the information security doctrine aimed at combating “aggressive impact of Russian propaganda.” The document reads that Russia uses latest information technologies to destabilize Ukraine by instigating hatred, change of constitutional order, and violation of sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine. President Poroshenko also ordered to the Cabinet of ministers to prepare a draft law on blocking illegal websites.
2. Defense minister of Russia Sergey Shoigu announced the existence of “information operations command” in Russia. Rumors about a cyber unit in Russian armed forces had circulated since 2013, but until recently were denied by Russian officials. According to Zecurion Analytics report published in Kommersant newspaper in January, Russia is among top five countries in the world in terms of size and financing of cyber units that carry out espionage, cyber attacks, and information wars. Russian cyber unit reportedly consists of about a thousand people and received some $300 million per year.
3. Kyrgyzstan plans to open an analytical center to combat cyber threats. The presidential decree is to be signed soon. The center will hire Russian cyber security experts as consultants. At the moment, cyber security of Kyrgyzstan is administered by State Committee for National Security.
4. Azerbaijan presented its national navigation system AzNav. Its is already available for mobile devices and doesn’t require internet connection. The interface supports nine languages, which makes its convenient for foreigners, and besides Azerbaijan includes countries of Europe, South and Northern America.
5. Young people in Tajikistan under 20 years of age will be prohibited from visiting internet cafes and computer game clubs at nights. The authorities hope the move will decrease juvenile delinquency.
6. Ministry of communication of Kazakhstan is developing the mechanism for registration of mobile phones by their IMEI codes. According to the law adopted in December 2016, obligatory registration is supposed to begin from July 1, 2017. Unregistered mobile devices will be blacklisted.