Russian Banks Turn to AI to Fortify Cybersecurity

Russia’s financial sector is leaning on artificial intelligence to fight off a surge in cyberattacks, with banks reporting major success in blocking attempts to breach their systems.

Russian banks are ramping up their cyber defenses — and AI is at the center of that strategy. According to data from the first half of 2025, Sberbank, the country’s largest lender, successfully repelled more than 35,000 cyberattacks, a 40 percent increase compared to the same period last year, Russian outlet Gazeta.ru reports.

All of the recorded attacks were blocked thanks to a multilayered security system enhanced with modern AI tools. Sberbank, often branded simply as “Sber,” has developed its own in-house security technologies and is making parts of them available to others. The bank recently opened free access to its AI-driven cyber-threat management platform, X Threat Intelligence.

The platform functions as a powerful threat-analysis engine, aggregating and structuring vulnerability data, including information from the darker corners of the internet. For smaller and mid-sized organizations, which often lack resources to mount full-scale cyber defenses, that tool could prove critical.

Experts note that deploying artificial intelligence in cybersecurity systems is quickly becoming a baseline requirement to withstand today’s wave of digital threats. For Russian banks, the message is clear: they are preparing for a prolonged technological arms race against cybercriminals — and they are betting on AI to stay ahead.