A Coordinated Response: How Russia to Tackle Cybercrime in 2026

Building a Secure Digital Environment

The plan is designed to coordinate the efforts of all relevant government bodies in order to create a unified, user-friendly and secure digital environment. It outlines a broad set of measures, including legislative updates, technical countermeasures against cybercrime and large-scale programs to improve digital literacy among citizens.

A strong emphasis is placed on crime prevention and interagency coordination. One proposal under review would require telecom operators, internet service providers and other information intermediaries to notify law enforcement agencies when they detect signs of crimes committed using digital technologies.

Another preventive measure involves integrating mandatory user alerts about potential cybercrime risks into core mobile applications used for interactions with government agencies, as well as into banking and other socially significant apps.

Coordination Between Civil Authorities and Law Enforcement

Responsibility for implementing the plan has been assigned to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Digital Development, the Federal Security Service and Roskomnadzor. These agencies will work in close coordination with the Prosecutor General’s Office and the Investigative Committee. Once the plan reaches its current endpoint in the third quarter of 2027, the government is expected to propose amendments to existing legislation.

By that same timeframe, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Digital Development, the Ministry of Economic Development, the Federal Security Service and Roskomnadzor, with support from the Prosecutor General’s Office, are expected to submit proposals to tighten liability for violations involving personal data. One option under discussion is extending the statute of limitations for administrative offenses in this area.

On an ongoing basis, the Ministry of Digital Development, the Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Science and Higher Education, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Central Bank have been tasked with running nationwide programs to improve digital and financial literacy. The goal is to inform citizens about modern cybercrime techniques and effective protection methods, including through social advertising. Special attention is being paid to preventing minors from being drawn into cybercrime. By the second quarter of 2026, authorities plan to establish a dedicated repository of educational and preventive materials for this purpose.

State-Level Action Against Fraud

Earlier, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin instructed the Ministry of Digital Development, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Roskomnadzor and the Central Bank to explore the creation of a biometric database of known fraudsters. This work is scheduled to be completed by April 1, 2026. The initiative aims to establish a unified approach requiring banks to use information provided by telecom operators, enabling faster and more effective protection for citizens.

Knowledge of the threats any security professional faces is the foundation of their work. To protect an information resource from a hacker’s actions, a specialist must clearly understand what those actions involve, how they can be identified and how they can be prevented. That is why cybersecurity organizations closely monitor publications describing attacker techniques and tactics, conduct their own research and share findings through academic and professional journals, industry conferences and open workshops

Igor Alekseev

Managing Director for Government Relations at Positive Technologies

Starting in January 2026, Russia plans to roll out a new national platform designed to protect citizens from remote fraud schemes. The platform will store information about fraudsters’ identities and banking details. Additional measures include creating a catalog of scammer voice samples and mandating on-screen warnings for suspicious calls on smartphones.

A Holistic Model

The implementation of the plan is expected to significantly improve public awareness of online fraud schemes and strengthen the protection of personal data. In turn, this should lead to an overall reduction in cyber threats, reinforce state-level protection mechanisms and raise the country’s baseline level of digital security.

The project also has the potential to serve as a model for other countries, demonstrating how coordinated institutional cooperation and legislative tools can be applied effectively. On the technical side, measures such as registries and AI-driven analytics create opportunities for Russia to advance domestic cybersecurity technologies, including the export of monitoring and protection solutions.