Durov's Addition to Terrorist List Triggers Russian Account Blocks but Does Not Automatically Ban Telegram or Classify Transfers as Terrorism Financing
Russian banks and financial organizations are required to freeze operations on the domestic accounts of Telegram founder Pavel Durov after his inclusion in the Rosfinmonitoring list of terrorists and extremists. The measures focus mainly on his personal finances and assets located in Russia, according to attorney Dmitry Roshchin.
At the same time, Telegram is not automatically designated as a prohibited or extremist resource. Under Russian law the messaging service and its founder remain separate legal subjects, as clarified by Izvestia.
The situation with money transfers to Durov is more nuanced. The mere act of sending funds does not equate to financing terrorism. Establishing criminal liability would require evidence that the money was intended specifically for terrorist activity, Roshchin emphasized.
Rosfinmonitoring added the entrepreneur to the list on 30 July. Earlier the FSB charged him with aiding terrorist activity and placed him on an international wanted list. The agency claims Telegram administration failed to delete channels, chats and bots allegedly used by Ukrainian special services to prepare sabotage, terrorist acts, mass killings and cyberattacks in Russia. Durov has not yet been found guilty; only a court can make that determination.
Related articles
Compliant Telegram Mini App Authentication via Russian ID Providers in My Anti-Social Network Project
The project 'My Anti-Social Network' demonstrates a production-grade approach to Telegram Mini App authorization that meets Russian identification requirements by separating user identity from delivery channels. Instead of relying solely on Telegram initData verification, the system routes authentication through VK ID, Yandex ID, and MAX using OAuth 2.0 / 2.1 flows with PKCE. Sensitive tokens never reach the browser; the client receives only short-lived one-time codes exchanged for HttpOnly session cookies. The architecture supports multiple front-ends including PWA, browser extensions, and Home Assistant integration while maintaining cryptographic protections around state parameters and code verifiers. The solution was implemented for an aggregator delivering personalized news feeds through Telegram, MAX, VK bots, and voice assistants.
Asset Management as the Foundation of Vulnerability Management: Unknown Assets Cannot Be Protected
The article explains that asset management forms the essential base for any effective vulnerability management program, as organizations cannot protect systems they do not know exist. It details multiple data sources including SIEM, NTA/NDR, Active Directory, CMDB, virtualization platforms, and cloud APIs that must be combined to build a complete inventory. Key record fields such as asset criticality, responsible owner, and last successful scan date are highlighted as critical for prioritization and SLA compliance. The piece examines new Russian regulations including FSTEC Order No. 117 and Federal Law No. 58-FZ that mandate accurate asset inventories to meet monthly scanning and 24-hour critical patch requirements. International frameworks such as CIS Controls v8.1, NIST CSF 2.0, and ISO/IEC 27001:2022 are compared, emphasizing lifecycle management and reaction processes for unauthorized assets. Emerging asset types including cloud resources, SaaS services, AI systems, containers, and IoT devices are discussed as expanding the attack surface faster than organizations can track.
Ozon Data Security Team Details Audit Framework to Eliminate Paper-Only Compliance
Alena, head of the Data Security group at Ozon, describes how the company built an internal audit process that focuses on actual risk reduction instead of producing lengthy formal reports. The team examines personal data, financial records, and other sensitive information across hundreds of microservices while checking role-based access, logging, encryption, and data flows. They analyzed more than 84,000 user-role pairs in one review and identified overly broad permissions on product tagging that could cause major financial losses. A notable case led to the removal of customer names, phones, and addresses from delivery boxes even though the practice was formally allowed under Federal Law 152-FZ. The group uses a scoring model based on data sensitivity, business importance, user count, and potential monetary impact to prioritize which systems to audit first. Additional criteria such as past incidents and critical information infrastructure status can be added to the model. The approach emphasizes real implementation of recommendations, cross-team communication, and hiring analysts who care deeply about practical security outcomes.
Microsoft to Make Passkeys Default Authentication in Entra ID Starting September 2026
Microsoft will transition Entra ID users to passkeys as the standard authentication method beginning September 1, 2026. The change aims to eliminate reliance on phishing-prone SMS and voice call codes. Existing SMS and voice users will be prompted to register passkeys during their next multifactor authentication. Passkeys rely on public-key cryptography and avoid shared secrets, blocking phishing, interception, credential reuse, and SIM swapping attacks. Support includes synced passkeys via iCloud Keychain and Google Password Manager, plus device-bound options like Microsoft Authenticator, Windows, and FIDO2 hardware keys. Native SMS and voice services will be fully retired on February 1, 2027, forcing affected tenants to adopt passkeys with no opt-out option.