Moscow Hires Hackers for City Services After Major Data Breach
Moscow authorities have hired cybersecurity experts to work on the city's educational platform and other services, following a series of cyberattacks. The move comes after a major breach in 2022 that exposed personal data, although officials initially denied the leak's severity.
In 2022, the Moscow Electronic School (MES) platform faced a wave of ransomware and DDoS attacks that encrypted two servers. While authorities denied that a data leak exposed real user information, it's widely reported that Russian state-affiliated actors are behind such sophisticated cyber operations. The recent hiring of cybersecurity experts, whose involvement in the 2022 breaches remains unclear, has raised eyebrows. Meanwhile, companies worldwide, including in China, are recruiting top cybersecurity experts for legal cybersecurity work through 'bug bounty' programs. In Russia, the FSB appointed a former hacker as a deputy director of its main cyber unit over a decade ago, indicating the value placed on such expertise.
The hiring of cybersecurity experts by Moscow authorities, following the MES platform's 2022 breach, has sparked questions about their role and potential involvement in past attacks. As governments and companies worldwide seek to bolster their cybersecurity, the ethical and strategic implications of employing cybersecurity experts remain a contentious issue.
