As former NSA contractor Edward Snowden has been granted a temporary asylum by Russia, the government is now planning to seek his help in probing the extent to which the country's digital sphere has been violated by the US and how it can be protected from such threats in future.
According to the Christian Science Monitor, Snowden might find himself acting as 'Exhibit A' in Russia's efforts to beef up its national electronic security and assert their 'digital sovereignty' in light of his revelations that major internet companies have been giving away user data breaching laws.
Sen. Ruslan Gattarov said that Russia wants to know from Snowden about the user data leaks and take his assistance to work out measures to protect private information on national and international level.
He further said that the government has no interest in relationships between governments or struggles between security agencies or has any question about what the NSA is getting up to and explained that this step is about the security of personal information which concerns tens of millions of people in Russia and billions around the world.
While some see it as a much-needed effort for Russia to gain control over its own data after the NSA revelations and support the move, critics believe that it is yet another effort for the country to gain control of the internet for its own purposes, the report added.