Total Replacement of Foreign Software in Russian State Institutions Inefficient

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated that the complete transfer of the Russian state institutions' software from foreign to domestic products will be inefficient.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — A complete overhaul of the Russian state institutions' software from foreign to domestic products is impossible on grounds of efficiency, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Wednesday.

"It would be possible if domestic software producers made something more effective. Then the direct feasibility of totally transferring to something more efficient would of course be there, it is a matter of efficiency," Peskov told reporters.

NBC News cited a senior US intelligence official in its report on Tuesday claiming that Russian officials are "stepping up their game" to replace Microsoft products, claiming concerns that they could be used as "weapons" in cyber warfare.

"In general, work on creating domestic software is ongoing. But there is understanding of course that the involvement of domestic software is possible where there is no reduced performance, its effectiveness… But this work, of course is being conducted. It is routine work for the development of domestic electronics, domestic programming," Peskov said.