Russian Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev recently publicly stated that cybercrime activities in Russia have been rampant this year, causing huge losses of more than $1.25 billion. Not only ordinary people have been deeply affected, but even government agencies and other organizations have been frequently attacked. He seriously pointed out that cybercrime currently accounts for 40% of the total crimes in the country, and for those serious cases, this proportion has risen to 60%.

Minister Kolokoltsev also predicted that by 2024, Russia's losses from cybercrime are likely to exceed $1.25 billion again, a worrying prospect. At a meeting of the Interior Ministry's Public Council on Wednesday, he elaborated on the serious threat posed by cybercrime to individuals, organizations and government agencies, and stressed its increasingly destructive nature to the country's economy.

According to TASS, Kolokoltsev pointed out that the number of illegal activities in cyberspace has surged and almost doubled in the past five years. These crimes still account for a high proportion of the total crime, reaching 40%, which means that cybercrimes are happening almost every moment. For those extremely serious and particularly serious cybercrimes, the proportion is an astonishing 60%.

"Cybercrime has brought unprecedented impact on the economy and people's property rights," Kolokoltsev added. "From the beginning of this year to now, the total losses caused by cybercrime have exceeded 116 billion rubles, which is a shocking figure."

In order to effectively curb the spread of cybercrime, the Ministry of the Interior has made strengthening the IT crime department a priority. Minister Kolokoltsev specifically mentioned the efforts in the field of education, where nearly 1,000 students are currently studying computer and information security-related programs to cultivate reserve forces for future cybersecurity work. At the same time, the Ministry of the Interior has also increased its training for employees, and more than 750 employees have completed qualification upgrades to better cope with the challenges of cybercrime.

Minister Kolokoltsev also revealed a piece of good news: in the first eight months of this year, the Ministry of Internal Affairs successfully cracked a number of major and extremely serious cases such as organized crime of a mafia nature, demonstrating its positive results in combating cybercrime.

So what do you think of Russia’s ongoing fight against cybercrime? Feel free to share your thoughts and opinions in the comments section below.