Under mysterious circumstances, Russia has arrested Ruslan Stoyanov, head of computer incidents investigations unit at the huge cybersecurity firm at Kaspersky. He’s been charged with treason.
Photo via A. Savin (CC BY-SA 3.0)
It seems that Stoyanov was arrested alongside Sergei Mikhailov, deputy head of the information security department of the FSB in December, but the circumstances are unclear as Russia refuses to provide any information on the case. In fact, according to Forbes, the case will be tried under Russian criminal code article 275, which will lead to a “secret military tribunal.”
In a statement to CNBC, Kaspersky’s spokeswoman, Maria Shirokova said:
This case is not related to Kaspersky Lab. Ruslan Stoyanov is under investigation for a period predating his employment at Kaspersky Lab. We do not possess details of the investigation. The work of Kaspersky Lab’s Computer Incidents Investigation Team is unaffected by these developments.
According to Stoyanov’s Russian LinkedIn profile, he had previously worked at the Russian Interior Cyber Crime Unit.
Kaspersky creates consumer level antivirus and security software, but also does high level research on advanced malware and hacking threats. The company is headquartered in Moscow but has offices all around the world. It’s hard to know how Russia has justified hitting Stoyanov with treason charges, but the recent cyber war between the United States and Russia could be a possibility.
Much of the details of the case remain unclear, and we shouldn’t expect Russian authorities to release more information about it any time soon.
[CNBC]