INFORMATION SECURITY DOCTRINE
A. I. Pozdnyakov
The ‘Doctrine of Information Security of the Russian Federation’ is a totality of official views on the
aims, tasks, principles and main directions for ensuring information security of the Russian
Federation. It develops the Conception of National Security with respect to the information sphere
and it serves as a basis for shaping government policy in this field. It is the first post-Soviet political
document in which the matter of preservation of spiritual and moral values, implicit in Russian
society, had been raised.
It remains highly important to prioritise general democratic principles and interests of individuals,
society and state in the Doctrine. It is well understood that a lack of access to information and
manipulation of information produce negative sentiments amongst the population, and, in some
cases, lead to destabilization of the social and political situation. With this in mind, the Doctrine
intends to strengthen the legitimacy of the mass media and to broaden its capabilities with respect
to the delivery of timely and trustworthy information. The Doctrine aims to open government
information resources to the public and to develop the support activities of public unions. The
Doctrine wishes to protect society from untrustworthy information. In doing so, the State should
create conditions for the observance of the constitutional rights and freedoms of human beings in
the field of the acquisition of information and its usage, prohibition of censorship and the reliable
delivery of information to both Russian and international publics. Trustworthy information about the
government policy of the Russian Federation, its official position on socially significant events.
The Doctrine describes in detail the legal, organizational, technical and economic methods of
ensuring information security. In particular, it draws attention to the legislative differentiation of
powers in the field of ensuring information security between federal executive authorities and other
executive authorities on the subjects of the Russian Federation and the determination of aims,
tasks and mechanisms of participation in the activities of public unions, organizations and citizens.
An important aspect of the Doctrine relates to the condition of the defence sphere and to military
and civil relations through the prism of information security. Possible information and propaganda
activity undermines the prestige and combat readiness of the Armed Forces as do unsettled
matters of social security of military persons and their family members. These elements represent
internal threats to the field of defence; that modern civil society in Russia must avoid in order to is
ensure the maintenance of necessary moral values, patriotism and civil responsibility.
There are, however, problems within the Doctrine itself. The problem of information and
psychological security in comparison with information and technical security is described
insufficiently. Differences, in the specific tasks of ensuring the supply of information, are rather
significant and technical aspects (i.e. the subject field – information resources and processes in
technical means and systems) and information and psychological security (subject field – individual
psychology, collective psychology, social conscience) should have been more clearly reflected in
the Doctrine, at least by means of corresponding grouping of threats, their sources, tasks, etc.
Unfortunately, the Doctrine still does not present a system of official views on the ensuring of
information security. This considerably diminishes its normative significance for forming
government policy in the sphere of information security. In many ways, information security is
explained by a weak methodological development of the key definitions. Information security is
determined in the Doctrine as a condition for the protection of national interests in the information
sphere. The term “international interests” might represent the struggle and competition of states,
but not for ensuring security. National, social, personal values (material and spiritual), with respect
to information security, should be emphasised. In this sense, information security reflects the
information resource of the subject as a self-value, or, as a factor materially influencing the results
and expenditures of its activities (economic, political, military, etc.). The word combination
“information sphere” itself does not permit a clear outline in the field of the subject of information
security. “Sphere” appears more as a journalistic metaphor as opposed to a scientific term. Its
usage leads to an extremely expanded interpretation of information security.
As the influence and power of public information is delivered mostly through mass media, the most
important purpose of the Doctrine as a political document should centre on the conditions and
mechanisms of responsibility for any damages incurred (for manipulating social conscience, “black
PR” during election campaigns, undermining public moral, etc.). However, the Doctrine says very
little about this. It underlines the freedom of mass media as opposed to issues of censorship. The
Doctrine briefly speaks of the possibility of a constitutional limitation of the freedom of mass
information and the necessity of the prohibition of usage of broadcasting time by the electronic
mass media for programs that propagate violence, cruelty and anti-social behaviour. Democratic
countries have an experience of establishing tough mechanisms of responsibility for the mass
media, including those in private property. All of this should have been clearly addressed by the
Doctrine particularly in the section devoted to priority measures for the realization of government
policy of ensuring information security of the Russian Federation.