The IT+Sovereignty forum, the second in the series of I+ forums held in 2016, opened on May 23. The forum is sponsored by the Institute of Internet Development (IID) with the support from the Coordination Center for TLD .RU/.РФ.
The forum was opened by Russian Presidential Adviser and Chairman of the IID Council, German Klimenko, who invited the participants to discuss concrete steps to develop Russian software and the country’s IT industry, import substitution and the role of information security in providing the country’s cyber sovereignty.
Chairman of the State Duma Committee for Information Policy, Information Technology and Communications Leonid Levin said that the key objective in the area of import substitution is the search for ways to boost the development of the Russian IT industry. He promised to forum participants that legislators will take measures to protect the Russian IT business. Levin also drew attention to the role the Coordination Center for TLD .RU/.РФ plays in providing the country its IT sovereignty: “The Coordination Center actively participates in the work of international organizations to develop dialogue with all interested parties on the topic of Internet governance.”
Director of the Coordination Center Andrey Vorobyev spoke in detail about the attitude of the international community toward IT sovereignty: “There is still no unified international opinion about what IT sovereignty is. But today, all topics which once seemed remotely possible, such as cyberwars and cyberespionage, are now considered in case studies, and organizations engaged in the administration and maintenance of national domains are referred to as critical infrastructure in most countries.” Vorobyev also said that most Russian companies show a very low level of protection against cyber-attacks, and this problem should be solved as soon as possible, meaning that awareness should be raised in this area.
Director of the Russian Association for Electronic Communications and IID Council member Sergei Plugotarenko spoke about how leading experts in IT view import substitution.. “We can safely say that at the moment, experts and industry members support software imports substitution. However, some IID experts are skeptical about the terms set for the implementation, volume and results of the import substitution program. In this context, additional expert, legislative and industrial work should be carried out. Support on all levels is also needed, and Russia developers need to be additionally incentivized.
The questions raised by the director of the Coordination Center for TLD .RU/.РФ. at the opening of the forum will be discussed in detail at a roundtable, The Role of Information Security in Ensuring Sovereignty, which will take place at the forum at 3.30 pm. At 5.30 pm the forum’s program will also feature an expanded meeting of all committees of the Coordination Center, one which will summarize the results of the forum and discuss the preparations for Moscow’s ENOG 11 conference and ICANN 56 in Helsinki.
