On Friday, February 13, Pyatigorsk State University hosted a major cybersecurity event with the opening of the Center for Information Security and Digital Technologies at the Department of Information and Communication Technologies, Mathematics, and Information Security. The opening was timed to coincide with the 19th Safer Runet Week. As part of the program, specialists from the Coordination Center for TLD .RU/.РФ took part in educational sessions for first- and second-year IT students. More than 80 people attended the event.
The highlight of the program was a lecture by Yevgeny Pankov, a data analyst at the Coordination Center, dedicated to information security in the world of 2026. The expert presented an in-depth analysis of current cyber threats and effective protection strategies.
“In today’s internet environment, attackers use a wide arsenal of deceptive techniques. Particularly dangerous are next-generation phishing attacks, including so-called stealth phishing, smishing (fraud conducted via SMS), and vishing (voice-based scams, such as phone calls). Quishing – attacks carried out through QR codes placed on public buildings – is also rapidly gaining momentum,” Pankov noted.
Deepfakes – fabricated media content generated using artificial intelligence – represent a serious and growing threat. One particularly alarming example is the so-called “fake dates” scheme, which has enabled criminals to steal more than 350 million rubles from Russian users.
Yevgeny also pointed out that cybercriminals tailor their tactics to the age of their potential victims. Teenagers are most often targeted through online games and social media, while young people aged 18-25 are lured with fraudulent part-time job offers. Individuals aged 26-40 are frequently approached with dubious investment schemes, and people between 45 and 60 are increasingly targeted by scammers posing as government officials. Elderly users aged 60 and over are most vulnerable to the classic “family member in trouble” scam. At the same time, legislation is struggling to keep pace with the rapid growth of cybercrime. In 2025, a law was adopted introducing criminal liability for droppers, with penalties ranging from fines of 100,000 to 1 million rubles or one to six years imprisonment. In addition, the age of criminal responsibility for certain offenses was lowered to 14.
At the conclusion of the lecture, Yevgeny invited students to visit the Domain Patrol website, where they can learn more about various types of digital fraud and find hotline numbers for organizations working in information security at different levels.
The second part of the event focused on a presentation of the Coordination Center’s educational initiatives. Viktoria Bunchuk, Head of Social Projects at the Coordination Center, introduced the organization’s youth programs. These include the RIGF 2026 Special Course (with registration already open through March 4), the Summer School on Internet Governance, the Digital Reality discussion club and podcast, the activities of the Coordination Center’s Youth Council, and the Поддерживаю.рф project. The latter aims to develop an ecosystem supporting domain names and email addresses in national languages and includes courses and training on configuring software in line with the principles of universal acceptance.
To consolidate the knowledge gained, participants took part in a quiz round titled Explore the Internet. The quiz focused on information security and cyber incident investigation and was developed specifically for Safer Runet Week and the opening of the Pyatigorsk Information Security Center by experts from F6, a Russian developer of cybercrime prevention technologies. The questions covered a broad range of information security topics, from types of cybercrime and investigation techniques to the fundamentals of cyber hygiene.
All quiz participants received prizes featuring the branding of the Coordination Center and its projects.
The events of the 19th Safer Runet Week will continue through February 26. A detailed program is available on the event’s official website. Readers are encouraged to follow updates on the Coordination Center’s information platforms and take part in the nationwide educational campaign.
