The Ministry of Digital Development of the Russian Federation is once again trying to enshrine at the legislative level the requirement to confirm “important actions” on the Internet via SMS and Max messenger, the Russian newspaper Forbes writes.
According to sources in the ICT industries, this measure is included in the third package of bills aimed at combating fraud, which is being considered in the State Duma.
There was already an attempt to enshrine confirmation of “important measures” via SMS and Max Messenger at the legislative level in the second package of bills aimed at combating fraud, but in the end this was abandoned.
Then, according to a Forbes source, the entire company was against it, except for VK, whose subsidiary is developing Max, and telecom operators.
In particular, experts and business representatives pointed out that the draft laws do not clarify exactly what is meant by “purposeful actions” on the Internet. The list of these procedures was supposed to be approved at a later date.
For example, the definition of “significant actions” could include banking transactions. In this case, credit institutions will incur additional costs for sending SMS and messages in Max. Furthermore, these confirmation methods are listed in the draft law separated by commas, which could be interpreted as a requirement to use both simultaneously.
In addition, experts noted that these confirmation methods cannot be considered reliable. An IT industry representative told Forbes that Russian services have their own stricter authentication systems, including push notifications and internal in-app notifications.
The Ministry of Digital Development stated, in response to a request from Forbes, that “such a measure is not under consideration.” “Currently, the third package of anti-online fraud measures is being coordinated with interested administrations and industry. It should be noted that all initiatives have been developed taking into account the balance between security and user rights. They are aimed at strengthening the protection of citizens from online fraudsters,” the press service said.