PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA VLADIMIR PUTIN: Good afternoon, colleagues.

The issue on our agenda is unquestionably an urgent one. We will talk about countering extremism.

Pursuant to one of my instructions, a corresponding Strategy has been drafted and presented today for your consideration.

I do not believe there is any need to prove how dangerous the very nature of extremism is and how destructive its ideology is – the ideology of intolerance, hatred and animosity. In all its manifestations, extremism is aggressive in nature, seditious and often violent and linked to terrorism.

It infringes on the rights and freedoms of citizens, often even endangering their very lives; it is a threat to national security, capable of cardinally unbalancing the political, economic and social systems. Such types of extremism as nationalism, religious intolerance and political extremism are especially dangerous for society and for the state. Every crime of this type (usually resonant and heinous in itself) can provoke mass violations of public order.

I would like to add that in the modern world extremism is often used as a geopolitical instrument to rearrange spheres of influence. We see the tragic consequences of the wave of so-called ‘colour revolutions’, the turmoil in the countries that have undergone the irresponsible experiments of covert and sometimes blatant interference in their lives. We take this as a lesson and a warning, and we must do everything necessary to ensure this never happens in Russia.

The largest players in the region are two multinational technology companies with offices in Israel: Verint Israel and NICE Systems. Privacy International uncovered that these companies have supplied monitoring centres to Kazakhstan’s KNB and Uzbekistan’s SNB, two security agencies widely implicated in human rights abuses. The monitoring centres allow agencies unchecked access to citizens‘ telephone calls and internet activity on a mass, indiscriminate scale.

The investigation also found that Verint attempted to facilitate Uzbek authorities’ interception of encrypted SSL traffic using fake certificates, based on technology provided by US-based company Netronome, which is owned by Blue Coat. Should Verint have been successful, it would have enabled Uzbek authorities unprecedented access to private communications, and undermined the web‘s most secure form of communication.

(3. April 2012) A few years ago, Narus boasted that it is “known for its ability to capture and collect data from the largest networks around the world.” The company says its equipment is capable of “providing unparalleled monitoring and intercept capabilities to service providers and government organizations around the world” and that “Anything that comes through [an Internet protocol network], we can record. We can reconstruct all of their e-mails, along with attachments, see what Web pages they clicked on, we can reconstruct their [Voice over Internet Protocol] calls.”

Like Narus, Verint was founded by in Israel by Israelis, including Jacob “Kobi” Alexander, a former Israeli intelligence officer.

(28. Oktober) U.S. officials told delegates from European and Arab countries at a meeting in Kuwait that this should complement parallel campaigns against the armed group on the battlefield and in the world of finance.

(29. Januar 2014) Cybertech 2014, the prime minister said, is also a way to build an international coalition of countries that will work together to defend “the great blessings” of Internet connectivity, and enable Israel to further develop its periphery, especially in the south.

NATO has launched its largest ever multinational cyber defense exercise code-named „Cyber Coalition 2014,“ according a statement issued by the alliance said Tuesday.

The three-day training event will test the western military alliance‘s ability to defend its networks from the various challenges that exist when operating in the contested cyber domain.