November 14, 2024

Data Leaks Reach Record High in Russia


Data Leaks Reach Record High in Russia
Server room of BalticServers
BalticServers, Wikimedia Commons
 

Sberbank, a majority state-owned banking and financial services company, reported that around 3.5 billion data entries containing personal information of Russian citizens are accessible to the public, affecting nearly 90% of the country’s adult population.

“The situation has long been deplorable,” said Stanislav Kuznetsov, deputy chairman of Sberbank’s board.

Sberbank’s analysis, conducted in late 2023 and early 2024, found that online stores and medical institutions were the primary sources of data leaks. Data breaches peaked in 2023, but leaks continue.

Infowatch, an information security firm, previously reported that a significant quantity of Russian personal data has been exposed. According to the organization, nearly one-third of data breaches in Russia involve large databases containing more than 100,000 records. Many of these databases are associated with various services. In particular, users of the online food ordering platform Yandex.Eda and shipping company SDEK were among those in recent leaks. Government databases have also been compromised: in August 2024, it was reported that the FSB Border Service database, containing information on individuals who crossed Russia’s border from 2014 to 2023, had been leaked.

Leaked data typically includes full names, passport details, phone numbers, residential addresses, and email addresses. Attackers commonly exploit such information for phishing scams and other fraudulent activities, often employing social engineering tactics. As such, an increase in leaks has meant a concurrent increase in scams.

The Bank of Russia reported that, in the second quarter of 2024, fraudsters stole R4.7 billion (nearly $48 million) from bank clients through 257,000 unauthorized transactions.

In 2024, Sberbank recorded a significant increase in fraudulent calls to Russian citizens. “Around February and March, we recorded a peak in phone scams, with about 20 million daily attempts to contact Russian citizens,” Kuznetsov said. He estimated that damages from fraud at the end of 2024 could reach approximately R1 trillion (roughly $10 billion).

You Might Also Like

Cryptocrime and Punishment
  • October 17, 2024

Cryptocrime and Punishment

A Moscow investigator has been sentenced for receiving the largest bribe in modern Russian history. 
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

Fish: A History of One Migration

Fish: A History of One Migration

This mesmerizing novel from one of Russia’s most important modern authors traces the life journey of a selfless Russian everywoman. In the wake of the Soviet breakup, inexorable forces drag Vera across the breadth of the Russian empire. Facing a relentless onslaught of human and social trials, she swims against the current of life, countering adversity and pain with compassion and hope, in many ways personifying Mother Russia’s torment and resilience amid the Soviet disintegration.
Maria's War: A Soldier's Autobiography

Maria's War: A Soldier's Autobiography

This astonishingly gripping autobiography by the founder of the Russian Women’s Death Battallion in World War I is an eye-opening documentary of life before, during and after the Bolshevik Revolution.
Fearful Majesty

Fearful Majesty

This acclaimed biography of one of Russia’s most important and tyrannical rulers is not only a rich, readable biography, it is also surprisingly timely, revealing how many of the issues Russia faces today have their roots in Ivan’s reign.
Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices

Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices

Stargorod is a mid-sized provincial city that exists only in Russian metaphorical space. It has its roots in Gogol, and Ilf and Petrov, and is a place far from Moscow, but close to Russian hearts. It is a place of mystery and normality, of provincial innocence and Black Earth wisdom. Strange, inexplicable things happen in Stargorod. So do good things. And bad things. A lot like life everywhere, one might say. Only with a heavy dose of vodka, longing and mystery.
Woe From Wit (bilingual)

Woe From Wit (bilingual)

One of the most famous works of Russian literature, the four-act comedy in verse Woe from Wit skewers staid, nineteenth century Russian society, and it positively teems with “winged phrases” that are essential colloquialisms for students of Russian and Russian culture.
93 Untranslatable Russian Words

93 Untranslatable Russian Words

Every language has concepts, ideas, words and idioms that are nearly impossible to translate into another language. This book looks at nearly 100 such Russian words and offers paths to their understanding and translation by way of examples from literature and everyday life. Difficult to translate words and concepts are introduced with dictionary definitions, then elucidated with citations from literature, speech and prose, helping the student of Russian comprehend the word/concept in context.
Murder and the Muse

Murder and the Muse

KGB Chief Andropov has tapped Matyushkin to solve a brazen jewel heist from Picasso’s wife at the posh Metropole Hotel. But when the case bleeds over into murder, machinations, and international intrigue, not everyone is eager to see where the clues might lead.
A Taste of Chekhov

A Taste of Chekhov

This compact volume is an introduction to the works of Chekhov the master storyteller, via nine stories spanning the last twenty years of his life.
Bears in the Caviar

Bears in the Caviar

Bears in the Caviar is a hilarious and insightful memoir by a diplomat who was “present at the creation” of US-Soviet relations. Charles Thayer headed off to Russia in 1933, calculating that if he could just learn Russian and be on the spot when the US and USSR established relations, he could make himself indispensable and start a career in the foreign service. Remarkably, he pulled it of.
The Moscow Eccentric

The Moscow Eccentric

Advance reviewers are calling this new translation "a coup" and "a remarkable achievement." This rediscovered gem of a novel by one of Russia's finest writers explores some of the thorniest issues of the early twentieth century.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955