Internet an Easy Target and a Tool for Terrorists - Russian Prime Minister

The Internet is vulnerable to a variety of attacks and abuses, prompting the criminals and terrorists to actively explore it as November 13 terrorist attacks in Paris have shown, Russian Prime Minster Dmitry Medvedev said Wednesday.

WUZHEN (China) (Sputnik) – He also noted that sophisticated electronic systems of total surveillance emerged, posing a threat to the security and sovereignty of states, creating a chain reaction of mistrust and spurring an information arms race.

"The Internet is, unfortunately, actively mastered by criminals and terrorists as the recent terrorist attacks in France and other criminal manifestations have once again demonstrated," Medvedev stated at the Second World Internet Conference in China.

The Internet security issues demand the closest attention of the international community, Medvedev stressed.

"It is the international community that should work out a universal code of conduct of states in the information space. In our opinion, such rules should be based on the non-use of force principle, respect for national sovereignty, non-interference in the domestic affairs of states, observance of fundamental human rights and freedoms," the prime minister outlined.

Medvedev currently takes part in a major Internet event that brought together thousands of prominent representatives of the governments, international organizations, enterprises, science and technology communities as well as civil societies.

The conference’s participants discuss such topics as the creation of Internet infrastructure, digital economy development, as well as Internet governance and cybersecurity issues.