The defense ministry of the Russian Federation is setting up a unique research laboratory in the ERA technology park, where blockchain technologies will be developed and applied to enhance cybersecurity and fight cyber assaults on critical information infrastructure.
While the lab itself is still in development, research on this blockchain-centered initiative has already begun.
Among the leading projects being worked on is the inception of an intelligent platform capable of safeguarding high-profile locations from cyberattacks. As such, the agency has brought in and assembled a team of information security experts.
Alexei Malanov, a cybersecurity expert at Kaspersky Labs, commented that the use of a blockchain-based platform could be advantageous as it would prevent hackers from deleting their logs, making them much easier to capture, as well as allowing authorities to know the hackers’ modus operandi and perform the corresponding security patches.
“When an unauthorized intrusion happens, an attacker often cleans the access log located on it, hiding the traces of the attack… Using a log distributed to several devices (for example, in the form of a blockchain), you can minimize such risk.”
Being an innovative and useful technology, blockchain can be successfully applied both in business and in the army. Viruses change data or software code and try to mask it from data integrity controllers. Meanwhile, blockchain can store the reference code and ensure independent verification and data/code validity.
Apart from the private network used to transfer secret code word information, the defense ministry has Internet-enabled systems and devices. Various administrative departments within the ministry use them for accountancy and workflow management, which makes them potentially vulnerable to hack attacks.
German Klimenko, chairman of the Digital Economy Development Fund, says:
“Currently, the ministry of defense is driving major IT developments and research endeavors, which is a good thing for the industry.”
The lab, which is being built in the Russian coastal town of Anapa, will ultimately fall under the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation’s Eighth Directorate, which likewise focuses on information security.
