RussiaCriminal Code Article 273, Creation, Use and Distribution of Malicious Computer Programs
Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, Art. 273 (No. 63-FZ, 1996)
In force since .
A computer misuse rule binding public and private bodies.
- Obligation class
- Security
- Audit expectation
- none
What it requires
- Do not create, use, or distribute computer programs, or other computer information, known to be intended for unauthorized destruction, blocking, modification, or copying of computer information, or for defeating computer-information security tools, under Criminal Code Article 273; this reaches tools built to circumvent a site's technical access controls.
These lines are LexLint's reading of the law's text.
If you get it wrong
Criminal exposureYes
Criminal exposure note
Base offense: restriction of freedom up to 4 years, forced labor up to 4 years, or imprisonment up to 4 years, plus a fine up to 200,000 rubles (or income for up to 18 months). Committed by a group, an organized group, using an official position, or causing significant damage or for mercenary gain: restriction of freedom up to 4 years, forced labor up to 5 years with optional disqualification up to 3 years, or imprisonment up to 5 years plus a fine of 100,000 to 200,000 rubles (or income for 2 to 3 years) and optional disqualification up to 3 years. Causing grave consequences or the threat of them: imprisonment up to 7 years.
Penalty structure
Tier one carries a fine up to 200,000 rubles alongside restriction of freedom, forced labor, or imprisonment up to 4 years; tier two a fine of 100,000 to 200,000 rubles alongside imprisonment up to 5 years; tier three (grave consequences) imprisonment up to 7 years with no separate fine specified.
- Rule
- Fixed only
- As of
- Currency
- RUB
- Fixed cap
- 200,000
What it makes you log
Logging duty
Article 273 punishes creating, distributing or using programs or other computer information knowingly intended to destroy, block, modify or copy computer information without authorization or to neutralize its protection, with higher penalties for groups, gain, major damage and grave consequences. It states an offence and penalties and imposes no duty to create, keep or produce a log or record, and it names no territorial reach.
- Kind
- None
- As of
What this law does
Article 273 criminalizes creating, using, or distributing computer programs or other computer information known to be intended for unauthorized destruction, blocking, modification, copying of computer information, or for neutralizing computer information security tools, with three escalating tiers for organized or for-profit commission and for grave consequences.
The article separately reaches software known to be intended for neutralizing computer-information security tools, without naming any particular downstream use for that software.
When LexLint raises it
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