Russia will form a new military branch responsible for cybersecurity by the end of 2013, news agency RIA Novosti reported last week, citing an unnamed source in the Ministry of Defense. Among the main tasks of the cyber troops will be data monitoring and processing, as well as dealing with cyber threats.
The first steps in forming the cyber corps were made this past February, when Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu initiated the creation of an army “cyber command.” The Federal Security Service (FSB), the post-Soviet successor to the KGB, is developing another similar project.
The Russian army is interested in alternative energy sources, communications, robotics, and any other innovations that can be used for military purposes, Shoigu said in a meeting with university staff and the general public.
Shoigu has ordered his subordinates to approach the young programmers from St. Petersburg who won the ACM ICPC programming contest, Digit.ru reported last week.
