UIA calls for abolition of order to install anti-phishing systems by providers

KYIV. March 1 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The Ukrainian Internet Association (UIA) urges to cancel National Telecommunication Networks Operation Center (NTNOC) order No. 67/850 dated January 30 on the introduction of a phishing domain filtering system due to the threat to Internet users of gaining access to this mechanism by the enemy, UIA Executive Director Volodymyr Kukovsky has said.

“UIA said that in fact, the centralized mechanism is being created to automatically block users’ access to an unlimited list of Internet resources. It is difficult to overestimate the negative consequences for Ukraine if the enemy gains access to this mechanism. Under the pretext of countering phishing sites, a powerful threat is being laid, in fact, a “Trojan horse,” Kukovsky wrote.

He said that UIA calls for urgent cancellation of the relevant order or suspension of its execution until a professional assessment of possible threats with the participation of representatives of the electronic communications sector, as well as the development of alternative ways to counter phishing with an acceptable level of risk.

Earlier, UIA has twice applied to the relevant public institutions with a request to cancel the order on the implementation of the phishing domain filtering system, stating that it contradicts the current legislation of Ukraine and harms its national interests.

As reported, the NTNOC adopted the order on the introduction of the phishing domain filtering system, which obliged the country’s Internet providers to install a system for blocking access to web resources by March 2.