Russia’s digital ministry creates unit to protect telecom networks

Russia’s Digital Development Ministry has established an industry coordination unit to protect communications networks from external disruption. It has identified priority facilities and approved protection requirements, Deputy Minister Dmitry Ugnivenko said.

Speaking at the 25th Spektr forum, Ugnivenko said the sector needed physical infrastructure protection alongside cybersecurity. The unit has arranged cooperation with the Unified National Centre and Russia’s Defence Ministry.

The approved requirements reflect the sector’s specific needs. Ugnivenko said security measures should preserve room for network development without placing an excessive burden on infrastructure.

The unit has focused on redundancy for communications nodes and backbone lines. Ugnivenko said this allowed operators to maintain services if network nodes were destroyed or restore connectivity quickly.