Russian Interior Ministry may get access to bank, telecom operator databanks
MOSCOW. April 6 (Interfax) - The Russian Interior Ministry and the Prosecutor General's Office are considering possible access of law enforcement agencies to databanks of banks and telecom operators, Russian Deputy Interior Minister, Investigative Department head Sergei Lebedev said.
"In the present-day reality, the countering of cybercrime requires adjustment of federal laws to allow specialized divisions of law enforcement agencies to receive information from databanks of banks and telecom operators in the real-time mode," Lebedev said in an interview with Interfax.
It would be necessary to commission "an innovative software system through integration of databases of banks and telecom operators into a federal platform containing information about crimes committed in the field of information technologies," he said.
The Interior Ministry has repeatedly proposed new work methods based on the analysis of big data from the departmental databank, as well as databanks of banks and telecom operators, Lebedev said.
"The real-time analysis of the information available in the databank will allow law enforcement officers, on one hand, to rapidly access significant information they need to solve crimes committed in the field of information and telecommunication technologies and to identify the perpetrators, and, on the other hand, to instantly initiate the blocking of accounts of perpetrators and to ensure compensation of the damage done to citizens," he said.
Besides, the access to information about accounts, phone numbers, websites and other resources used by the criminals will allow banks and telecom operators to do systemic work and prevent criminal incidents, Lebedev said.
About 90,000 cyber-thieves were detected in 2021, which is 32% more than in 2020, Lebedev said. The number of detected online drug dealers grew 37% year-on-year, he added.
Meanwhile, the Interior Ministry has seen a decline in the cybercrime rate this year. Fewer cybercrimes were recorded in January-February 2022, Lebedev said.