Vladimir Putin forced to delay keynote speech after cyberattack in Russia

Prestigious ‘Russian Davos’ event targeted by hackers, Kremlin admits

Russian president Vladimir Putin has been forced to delay a keynote speech at a showpiece international event by a cyberattack, the Kremlin says.

The prestigious St Petersburg International Economic Forum suffered from a “denial of service” cyberattack on its accreditation system, which held up the speech by an hour, officials say.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the attack, which began on Thursday, disabled the forum’s guest accreditation and admission system, leading to a host of problems with access.

He said specialists were working to fix the problem, and that Mr Putin’s address had been moved back.

The annual economic forum in St Petersburg, which runs from Wednesday to Saturday, was launched by the Kremlin in 1997 to attract foreign investment, discuss economic policy and project the image of being open for business after the demise of Soviet rule. Moscow likes it to be known as the “Russian Davos”.

Although Russia is widely suspected of plotting cyberwarfare on the West, Mr Putin last month said attacks on his country by foreign “state structures” had increased several times over.

He warned that Moscow must bolster its defences by reducing the use of foreign software and hardware.

The websites of many state-owned companies and news websites have suffered sporadic hacking attempts since Russia sent its armed forces into Ukraine on 24 February, often to show information that is at odds with Moscow’s official line on the conflict.

For years Russia hosted world leaders and business titans at the annual economic forum in its second city, but this year the global financial elite are staying away because of international sanctions over Moscow’s war in Ukraine.

This week, to make up for it, Russia is giving pride of place to smaller players or countries such as China - the world’s second largest economy - that have not joined in sanctions.

The list of attendees at this week’s forum, which is much smaller than in previous years, includes the trade minister of the United Arab Emirates.

Denis Pushilin, leader of the Ukrainian separatist Donetsk People’s Republic, was scheduled to attend.

A representative of the Taliban was also expected, although Russia formally designates the Taliban as a terrorist group. Mr Peskov said this did not mean Russia would recognise the Taliban as the legitimate government of Afghanistan.

One of the forum’s previously most popular events will not be held: Mr Putin’s question-and-answer session with executives of major international news organisations.

Instead, he will meet the heads of Russian news media and “front-line reporters” from Russia’s military operation in Ukraine, according to Kremlin Mr Peskov.