In 2025, fraudulent calls in messengers became the main cyber threat for Russians. Successful attacks often occur due to personal data leaks, said Igor Lyapunov, head of GC "Solar".
We are seeing this now in research — more than 60% of Russian citizens understand the importance of protection well. For everyone, their own protection has become an important factor. What is now the main sword and threat is, of course, fraud in messengers. ... The basis of successful fraudulent attacks on a person is his personal data. ... Now banks, telecom operators, and the state are making a lot of efforts to combat fraud.
Lyapunov noted that attackers will always find a way to contact the victim, even if WhatsApp or Telegram is blocked.
Comprehensive measures are needed to combat fraud. First, you need to protect personal data and increase the level of cyber literacy. Then, ensure the security of platforms through which calls and communication with users are carried out. Also, the head of "Solar" noted, it is important to control financial transactions.
The last part is, of course, what law enforcement agencies and the Central Bank are paying a lot of attention to now — blocking the illegal withdrawal of stolen funds.
With each new step to protect, calls are converted worse and worse, and withdrawing money becomes more difficult. This makes the economic model of the dark side less profitable, and therefore, in the future, unprofitable.
Earlier, cybersecurity expert Sergei Balyberdin said that there is a digital footprint — this is the data that remains on the Internet when a person uses websites and applications. It is impossible to completely "clean up" your presence. The expert recommended filling in only the required fields during registration, using different email addresses for different tasks, creating unique passwords, and enabling two-factor authentication.
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