Alwaght- Russian President Vladimir Putin has urged IT companies in the country to use domestically developed software, saying foreign products are prone to "high security risks."
The IT industry in Russia should aim to develop more home-grown products and raise and train specialists, Putin said Friday during a meeting with representatives of information and communication companies in the Perm Region.
At the moment, the amount of Russia-made software used in the country stands at around 30 percent, the president told.
"You should try to involve more of our [IT specialists]. In terms of security, there are things of critical importance for the state, that are essential to support certain industries and regions," Putin said, referring not only to the military sector, but also energy.
If Russian companies "keep producing equipment and software in the same quantities," rather opting for foreign products, "in certain spheres the state will eventually" stop using their services.
"You might be told: 'We can't have it. What if someone pushes a button [abroad] and everything here is down'," Putin said.
"You shouldn't offer IBM [products], or foreign software. We won't be able to take it because of too many risks," the president reiterated.
The Russian president has recently been pointing out the importance of developing knowledge and coming up with new technologies in the computer and IT fields.
Speaking to students on Russia's Knowledge Day earlier this month, Putin told them that "the future belongs to artificial intelligence."
"Whoever becomes the leader in this sphere, will become the ruler of the world," he said.
Russian state institutions have been gradually switching to using domestic technology as part of a Kremlin drive for self-reliance. That drive accelerated after Western states imposed sanctions on Russia after Ukraine's Crimea region voted to reunite with Russia in 2014.
Russian officials have said that the country needs to tighten up its cyber-security to protect it from attacks mounted by foreign spy agencies.
