Russia Mulls Boosting Security of Data Transfer on Internet

Russian authorities plan to set up a state certificate authority that will be distributing SSL certificates needed to secure data transfer on the Internet, local media reported Monday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — SSL certificates allow secure data transmission from a company’s web server to a browser by binding a cryptographic key to a company’s details. The technology is used to secure credit card transactions and give safe access to government websites.

The creation of a Russian certificate center will be discussed by a special working group, Russia’s Kommersant business daily reported. It may be set up within the Technical Center of Internet (TCI), which helps manage Russia's national domains.RU and.SU.

Kommersant cited TCI chief executive Alexei Platonov who said that establishing a certificate authority would take up to five years and cost between 200 million and 300 million rubles ($2.6-3.9 million).

All major OS and browser producers in the country – Microsoft, Google, and Yandex – could be asked to pre-install root certificates in their products, the outlet indicated.

In 2014, Russia mounted a campaign to secure its segment of the Internet, with media claiming this was an attempt to place the web under government control. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov denied reports last week that the government had prepared a bill on state control of Internet traffic in Russia.