Astra Cloud Launches Attested Secure Cloud to Accelerate FSTEC Compliance for Russian Government Systems
Astra Cloud, a division of the Astra Group, has launched a new "Protected Attested Cloud" platform intended for the deployment of state information systems, ISPDn, medical platforms, and other environments handling sensitive data.
The infrastructure has successfully passed attestation according to FSTEC Russia Order No. 117, achieving protection class K1, and Order No. 21, reaching protection level UZ-1. Clients can now use this pre-certified environment when attesting their own contours, which the company estimates will accelerate the overall procedure by three to five times.
Although the service removes the need to build infrastructure components from scratch, each customer's information system must still undergo its own attestation process. The offering includes a full set of certified protection tools such as firewalls, antivirus software, intrusion detection and prevention systems, trusted boot facilities, and SIEM solutions.
Access to the cloud is permitted exclusively through protected channels based on certified cryptographic information protection tools. The entire infrastructure resides in a Tier IV data center constructed using domestic hardware.
The solution targets organizations required to comply with FSTEC Russia regulations but unwilling to construct their own protected data centers, purchase separate security products, or expand their information security teams.
Starting 1 March 2026, Order No. 117 replaces Order No. 17 and extends its requirements beyond state bodies to subordinate institutions and companies interacting with the state segment. Critical vulnerabilities must now be remediated within 24 hours, and protection metrics must be reviewed regularly.
Possible use cases include hosting AI services with sensitive data, fulfilling regulatory prescriptions, and launching projects that require an attested contour, as well as participating in government tenders.
Related articles
Costly Mistakes: How Russian Businesses Risk Millions in Fines for Personal Data Violations
A year after stricter Russian personal data protection fines took effect, many entrepreneurs continue to commit violations that could trigger multimillion-ruble penalties from Roskomnadzor. The article details ten common breaches, including the prohibited use of Google Forms for data collection, missing cookie banners, absent or invalid consent forms under forms, and failure to obtain separate consents for publishing reviews. Additional violations cover missing privacy policies, outdated notifications to Roskomnadzor, improper transfer of employee data to third parties without written consent, lack of data processing agreements, and absence of records for paper-based data storage locations. Each violation is explained with direct references to the Law on Personal Data, the Code of Administrative Offenses, and specific government orders, along with exact fine ranges for citizens, individual entrepreneurs, and legal entities. Practical remediation steps are provided, such as replacing foreign services with Yandex Forms, drafting compliant consent texts per Article 9, and submitting updated notifications under Order No. 180. The guidance emphasizes conducting a full site audit and implementing all required documents to avoid penalties throughout 2026.
Rethinking SSO: Centralized User Data Provision and Authorization Processing in Corporate Systems
The article examines Single Sign-On systems not merely as authentication gateways but as architectural hubs for delivering user attributes and executing additional authorization logic. It highlights how SSO can aggregate data from sources like Active Directory, HR systems, and IDM platforms, then deliver it via OIDC claims to downstream applications. The discussion covers the shift from fragmented integrations across dozens of apps to a single trusted enforcement point using standards such as aggregated and distributed claims. It also explores the authorization pipeline where SSO acts as a Policy Enforcement Point querying external Policy Decision Points via the AuthZEN Authorization API 1.0. Practical examples include electronic business cards, role assignment, access routing, and mandatory MFA checks before token issuance. The piece stresses maintaining data ownership with source systems while establishing SSO as the single point of trust for applications.
Bitrix24 Releases Fully On-Premise BI Constructor for Regulated Enterprises
Bitrix24 has introduced a new delivery model for its BI Constructor that allows complete deployment inside a customer's own infrastructure. The update eliminates any requirement for external servers, cloud APIs, or internet connectivity, ensuring that all corporate data remains within the organization's closed perimeter. Previously, even the boxed version of the platform needed access to external infrastructure for updates and auxiliary services, creating conflicts with internal security policies and regulatory demands in highly regulated sectors. The new on-premise variant performs all data processing and storage exclusively on customer servers, giving organizations full control over access rights, backups, updates, and integration with internal protection tools. The solution is compatible with the boxed edition of Bitrix24 running on PostgreSQL and does not connect to external CDNs or cloud services. Bitrix24 expects strong interest from large enterprises and organizations handling restricted-access data that must stay inside the corporate network. Pilot implementations have already been completed, with broader customer pilots planned in the coming months.
Russia's Data Leak Penalties: 2.6 Million Rubles in Fines Despite 1.58 Billion Records Exposed in 2025
Russia introduced turnover-based fines for personal data leaks through Federal Law 420-FZ in late 2024, fundamentally altering the economics of information security investments. Over the first 18 months, Roskomnadzor opened 52 administrative investigations and issued 40 protocols totaling just 2.6 million rubles in penalties, with zero turnover fines applied. This occurred against a backdrop of 1.58 billion compromised records in 2025 alone. Public data leaks dropped fourfold in the first half of 2026, yet trading activity on underground forums rose nearly 60 percent as operators shifted to private sales. The law now ties penalties directly to the number of affected individuals and adds a turnover component for repeat violations under Article 13.11 of the Code of Administrative Offenses. Analysts note that the mere threat of larger fines has prompted companies to reassess data retention policies and risk models even without actual enforcement precedents.