Russian government approves 'information security doctrine'

[InfoSec News <isn () C4I ORG>]

http://www.theage.com.au/breaking/0006/24/A30741-2000Jun24.shtml

Source: AP | Published: Saturday June 24, 5:29 AM

MOSCOW - Amid growing concerns about media freedom in Russia,
President Vladimir Putin's powerful Security Council approved an
'information security doctrine' today to strengthen the government's
role in monitoring information flows in Russia.

Putin said the doctrine would safeguard journalists' rights, help
crack down on computer crime, and support the telecommunications
industry.

But critics were skeptical about the document's true aims.

The document wasn't immediately published; without details, its impact
on media freedom was unclear.

The decision by the Security Council, which includes some of the
country's top generals, coincided with a police interrogation of
Vladimir Gusinsky, owner of Russia's largest independent television
station.

Investigators questioned Gusinsky on two-year-old fraud charges that
led to his arrest last week - and rebuked him for going public with
details about the charges.

Gusinsky was held for three days and released on condition he not
leave Moscow, triggering international protests.

In his speech to the Security Council today, Putin dismissed criticism
that his government is cracking down on freedom of the press, saying
'without a free mass media there is no free society'.

Putin said the non-binding doctrine approved today was aimed at
boosting the government's ability to inform the public about policies
such as tax reform.

The doctrine also outlines steps to fight hacking and other computer
crimes, which have caused heavy damages in Russia and abroad, and help
local companies provide information services to the country's
far-flung regions, he said.

He was apparently referring to Internet access, which is extremely
limited outside Russian cities.

He could also mean more government oversight over the Internet. It is
already mandatory for Russian companies operating web servers to
forward copies of electronic traffic to the Federal Security Service,
the successor agency of the KGB.

Sergei Ivanov, chairman of the Security Council, said the doctrine may
also call for creating a new state ministry or agency for information,
according to the Interfax news agency.

[...]

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