Sibel Morrow
15 April 2025•Update: 15 April 2025
ISTANBUL
As geopolitical tensions and trade wars reshape the global landscape, Kaspersky founder and CEO Eugene Kaspersky has warned of increasing fragmentation in cyberspace and the breakdown of international cooperation in the fight against cybercrime.
“We are living in a very turbulent time. It is not just about economies and trade wars. What I see is a trend of fragmentation of cyberspace. The nations want to have their own infrastructure. They don't want to use some cloud services abroad. So, it's a global trend to develop their own data centers,” Kaspersky told Anadolu.
Kaspersky said another major trend is the localization of data—storing personal, economic, and industrial data within national borders.
He noted that these shifts are already impacting the company’s global operations. “As a global company, of course, we are affected.”
Kaspersky said they have seen setbacks in markets like the US and Europe.
Türkiye showing strong growth
“But growth remains strong and stable in regions such as the Middle East, especially in Türkiye, Russia, and Latin America,” he said.
Despite headwinds in some markets, Kaspersky emphasized that the company continues to grow and invest in new technologies.
“Even in these challenging times, we are developing new products. Our focus now is on cyber immunity—solutions that are secure by design and built to be unhackable from the ground up.”
About the broader implications of current political and economic disruptions, Kaspersky pointed to a structural shift in how nations approach cybersecurity.
“In the past, we had just a few vendors, mostly from the US, which provided the cyber services worldwide. Now, it is different. They want to have alternatives. For example, China. They want to have all Chinese (vendors). The cyberworld is split into different regions,” he said.
Kaspersky also pointed to how this fragmentation has affected law enforcement.
“In 2010, it was quite good. There were police and police departments from different countries, (such as) cyber police departments from different countries. They were exchanging information. They were assisting each other. There was the Interpol division established for cybersecurity in Singapore, so they were a strategic partner for Interpol. And then year by year, it is getting worse and worse. There is no cooperation right now,” he said.
According to Kaspersky, the absence of international coordination has allowed hackers to operate with impunity.
“If Russian hackers hack the West, they are absolutely safe because there is no cooperation between countries. If Chinese hackers hack any other countries, as there is no cooperation, they stay safe. If the hackers from the West hack Russia or China, it is the same,” he explained.
He added that hackers typically avoid targeting their own countries to avoid attracting the attention of local law enforcement. “But abroad? It is absolutely safe because there is no cooperation.”
Signs of hope, but fading trust
Despite the bleak outlook, Kaspersky highlighted some recent international successes. A major operation in Brazil, involving Interpol and Kaspersky experts, resulted in about 80 arrests. Another crackdown across multiple African countries led to the arrest of more than 300 individuals.
“So, it is possible, but unfortunately, we see now the world is getting more and more fragmented. There is almost no cooperation and, unfortunately, less trust in each other,” he said, adding: “I don't like it. I don't like trade wars, (or) isolationism.”
