Putin ratifies Russia's new Information Security Doctrine

Russian President Vladimir Putin ratified Russia's new Information Security Doctrine on Tuesday. The document was published on the country's official legal information portal and replaces a document that was in force since September 2000.

The new doctrine states that Russia is most vulnerable in terms of cyber security and that the main threats against it could come in the form of sensitive information being exposed to the intelligence services of foreign states and or to terrorist groups. Putin also noted an increase in crime in the credit and financial sectors.

The document also noted that Russia is heavily dependent on foreign information technology, and most specifically foreign software. The country also lacks qualified personnel, he said, and the measures to ensure the security of its information networks are carried out haphazardly.

One of the goals of improving information security, as established in Putin's doctrine, is "to neutralize the impact of information aimed at the erosion of traditional Russian spiritual and moral values."

Work on the new doctrine began in 2015.

On December 1, Putin also approved a document detailing Russia's new position on foreign policy, which is aimed at "communicating the Russian perspective on international processes to the world public at large."