MOSCOW, Oct. 1 (Xinhua) -- Russia's Internet has been under increasing attacks this year and needs better protection, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday.
"I must say that the number of attacks has increased significantly in the past six months. It is simply incomparable, even when compared with last year," Putin told a Russian Security Council meeting here.
He said "certain well-known countries" have been using their domineering positions in the global information space for not only economic goals, but also military and political ends.
Protecting Russia's information space against threats, Putin added, was currently one of the priorities to ensure national security.
"We need to substantially toughen the protection of our own communications networks and information resources, primarily those used by government agencies," the Interfax news agency quoted Putin as saying.
Russian Security Council secretary Nikolai Patrushev said the country's segment of the Internet came under attack 57 million times in the first six months of this year, while some 90 million attacks have been registered since 2010.
He said the sharp rise of attacks in 2014 was connected to the Sochi Winter Olympic Games in February as well as the Ukraine crisis.
Meanwhile, Putin said the government has no intention to put the Internet under total control and interfere into freedom of information in Russia.
Noting Russia has been cooperating with its partners to ensure information security, the president said the United Nations should become a site for assessing risks and elaborating joint measures in this area.
