US and Russia install red telephone for cyber-threats

Russia and the US are planning to improve the sharing of information about cyber-threats in order to minimise the risk of a crisis and to build up bilateral trust, the White House has announced. A working group will assess emerging threats and propose joint countermeasures. Direct communication lines between the two governments, based on the system already in place to prevent nuclear war, are being implemented at several levels to exchange information on cyber-threats.

As part of the cooperation plan, the Department of Homeland Security in the US and its Russian counterpart will exchange information on any malware that appears to originate in the other country. The Nuclear Risk Reduction Center (NRRC), originally implemented in 1987, will also be used to improve communication regarding cyber-threats; it is staffed around the clock and connects the US Department of State to Russia's Ministry of Defence.

Finally, a secure voice connection between the US cybersecurity coordinator and the Russian deputy secretary of the Security Council has also been authorised. It will be integrated into the direct hotline that already exists between Moscow and Washington and is intended to prevent a cybersecurity problem from becoming a bilateral crisis.

(sno)