Mikhail Mishustin

AKIT Requests Temporary Permission for Russian Companies to Transfer Personal Data Abroad After Data Center Incidents

The Association of Internet Trade Companies (AKIT) has sent a formal letter to Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin proposing a temporary exemption from strict data localization rules. The measure would allow affected companies to move critical systems and Russian citizens' personal data to data centers in friendly countries when domestic infrastructure is unavailable due to accidents or damage. Members including Ozon, Wildberries, Cooper, and Yandex Market argue that services must continue operating even if Russian facilities are compromised. The proposed special regime would apply only after an officially confirmed incident, require compliance with information security standards, and end no later than March 1, 2028. After recovery, companies would be required to return to normal data processing within Russia. Expert Alexey Muntyan noted that the mechanism activates only after incidents occur and questioned whether countries should be selected based on data protection levels rather than political alignment.

Russia Plans Additional Security Checks for Gosuslugi Portal Access

Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin has directed the Ministry of Digital Development to develop extra authentication measures for the Gosuslugi portal used by 120 million citizens. The new controls would apply both to initial logins and to account recovery procedures. Details on the exact checks and implementation timeline remain unspecified as the ministry must first propose a concrete mechanism. In parallel, officials are preparing a third package of anti-fraud measures that includes a unified consent platform inside Gosuslugi for managing personal data processing permissions. The platform would let users view which organizations access their data, revoke prior consents, and report violations. Russian police have separately warned that fraudsters are already exploiting the topic of account protection by sending messages that threaten blocking or data leaks and urge victims to call provided numbers.