Global estimates of cybercrime impact continue to rise, with international bodies projecting multi-trillion dollar losses for several consecutive years and forecasts suggesting the figure could reach 10 trillion dollars by 2025. These numbers were cited during the Infoforum-2023 national information security gathering, where Andrey Krutskikh, the Special Representative of the President of the Russian Federation for International Cooperation in the Field of Information Security, shared the outlook on stage. The forum opened on February 7 and focused on the evolving landscape of digital risk, defense, and strategic policy responses.
During the session titled “International information security is the problem of the day,” industry experts explored new cyber security challenges, current threat vectors, and practical countermeasures. A theme that recurred across the discussions was the push for stronger national digital sovereignty, alongside the need for robust international cooperation to confront cross-border cyber threats.
Krutskikh noted that, depending on the accounting framework used, Russia experiences between 100 thousand and 1 million hostile cyber incidents each year. He also highlighted a spike in activity around a major global event, stating that approximately 25 million cyber attacks targeted Russian infrastructure during the World Cup year, underscoring the persistent vulnerability of critical systems and the downstream risks for citizens and institutions alike.
The representative pointed to the United States as a primary source of many cyber assaults against Russia, framing it within a broader narrative about state-sponsored cyber operations and strategic information security concerns. His remarks reflected a broader conversation about how states view cyber capability as part of national security and multipolar governance in cyberspace.
In another session, Sergey Boyko, head of the Department of Information Security Issues in the Office of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, articulated concerns about what he described as the United States’ aspiration for global cyber dominance. He criticized the so-called Declaration on the Future of the Internet, arguing that its governance model could entrench a discriminatory framework for the internet. He contended that the document, while presenting inclusive rhetoric, effectively limits the governance voice of other states and centralizes influence in Washington.
According to Boyko, the signatories of the declaration have, in practice, ceded certain sovereign rights over national information infrastructures to the United States through the mechanisms designed to oversee domain name systems and IP address management. He emphasized that ICANN, the global coordinator of these resources, operates with a significant degree of dependence on the U.S. government, which, in his view, weakens national sovereignty in cyberspace and raises concerns about independence in digital policy decisions.
Looking at national responses, the director of Russia’s coordination center for the .ru and .rf top-level domains outlined ongoing initiatives aimed at strengthening cybersecurity and improving digital literacy across the population. The discussion highlighted the Digital Economy program, which encompasses not only protective measures to shield internet resources from external threats but also broad educational campaigns designed to raise public awareness and digital competency. These efforts reflect a dual focus on defensive resilience and proactive empowerment of citizens to navigate an increasingly digital world, while stressing the importance of a secure infrastructure as the backbone of economic and social life. This approach aligns with a broader strategy to foster trusted digital ecosystems, encourage innovation, and safeguard essential services from cyber disruption. Attribution for the broader claims and figures follows the conference reporting and statements made by the cited officials at Infoforum-2023 [attribution: Infoforum-2023 proceedings].