Financial Authorities to Shore Up Russian Banks Against Cyberattacks

Bank of Russia and the Finance Ministry are ready to provide any amount of liquid assets to the banks in order to protect banks' cybersecuity, according to the statement of the Association of Russian Banks (ARB).

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Russia’s Finance Ministry and the Central Bank are ready to inject liquidity into national banks in the event of cyberattacks, the Association of Russian Banks (ARB) said Friday.

Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) said earlier today it uncovered a plot by foreign intelligence agencies to launch a wave of cyberattacks on major Russian banks starting Monday, in an attempt to destabilize the country’s banking system.

"According to information obtained by the ARB, the Bank of Russia and the Finance Ministry are ready to provide any amount of liquid assets [to the banks]," the nonprofit said, adding Russian banks were in a position to meet commitments to lenders.

The Central Bank told RIA Novosti it was in touch with government agencies and other banks, saying the situation was under control. FSB said servers that were expected to be used in cyberattacks were located in the Netherlands and registered to a Ukrainian hosting firm called BlazingFast.