Russia’s base metals giant partners with telecom group in a bid to enhance cybersecurity
Russia’s Nornickel, one of the world’s largest mining groups, partners with telecom group Rostelecom in a bid to enhance cybersecurity in mining amid intensified hacker attacks on Russian companies.
Nornickel and Rostelecom signed a partnership agreement focusing on information security at the Digitalization of Industrial Russia conference, Nornickel, majority owned by entrepreneur Vladimir Potanin, said in a statement. The collaboration aims to bolster the cyber resilience of the mining and metallurgical sector.
The partnership will develop and implement solutions to prevent information leaks, control software security, and restrict access to malicious information resources, Nornickel said. The main areas of cooperation include joint measures to simplify the exchange of information on ongoing work and the development of proposals for creating an industry standard.
The number of DDoS attacks on Russian companies nearly doubled in the first quarter compared to the same period last year. Notably, over 2,500 DDoS attacks were recorded against energy facilities, almost ten times the figure for the first three months of 2023. In addition to DDoS attacks, highly critical cyber incidents were reported in industries such as manufacturing, IT companies, retail, and banks, which are considered critical information infrastructure.
Norilsk Nickel, a diversified mining and metallurgical company, is the world's largest producer of palladium and high-quality nickel, and also produces platinum, copper, cobalt, silver, gold, and iridium. Rostelecom, the national long-distance operator, handles the majority of long-distance and international traffic and operates a terrestrial network of television and radio broadcasting channels. The state is the main shareholder of Rostelecom.
