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Computer hacking[/caption]Carol Forsloff---While Russia publicly denounces hacking, its criminals have made considerable profits from profiteering off the Internet, even as Edward Snowden’s computer machinations have brought applause from Russian citizens.
The Russian government offers lip service, and high penalties, at least among its rules, for computer hackers, it nevertheless has made a place for one of the world’s most famous, Edward Snowden, whose skills in taking government secrets from the United States, as a purposeful act when he was hired by Booze Allen, with no small celebration. But how would the country’s citizens feel if it were one of their own who took Russian secrets, traveled to the United States and asked for and received asylum?
“The cybercrime market originating from Russia costs the global economy billions of dollars every year,” Ilya Sachkov, Group-IB’s CEO, said in a statement on the company’s website. “Although the Russian government has taken some very positive steps, we think it needs to go further by changing existing law enforcement practices, establishing proper international cooperation and ultimately improving the number of solved computer crimes.” This strong statement reflects the concern businesses have in Russia that computer hackers have manipulated money and events willy nilly to the tune of billions of dollars. In fact it is reported that Russia is virtually the lead country in its cyber snooping and Internet piracy.
Russian legislators are asking for strong penalties for computer hackers. One of the government leaders has suggested an amendment to the present legislation in Russia on cyber crime that the maximum punishment for hackers be increased to four years in prison or four years of hard labor as punishment.
This comes on the heels of Edward Snowden’s receipt of asylum in Russia for having stolen government information and taking it with him to both Russia and China, something for which there are strict penalties in the United States and Russia. Yet Russia maintains its protection for Snowden even as it offers some lip service to cracking down on cyber crime in Russia, a place where it has become a haven for those seeking to make a profit through computer hacking where the country maintains its position of leadership.
