Russia, hotbed of cybercrime, says nyet to ethical hacking bill

Russia’s State Duma blocked a bill to legalize ethical hacking, citing risks to state secrets and concerns about sharing vulnerabilities with hostile nations; as a result, legitimate vulnerability research largely remains confined to established companies working under NDAs and reporting through FSTEC, while individual researchers face legal exposure. Sanctions and vendor withdrawals since the invasion of Ukraine further restrict Russian researchers from probing foreign software, reinforcing a tightly controlled and legally fraught environment for security research.