Russia to Rent Tech-Savvy Prisoners to Corporate IT?
Summary: Russia's Federal Penitentiary Service announced a plan to recruit IT specialists from the country's prison population to work remotely for domestic commercial companies, according to Russian media reports published April 27. Deputy head Alexander Khabarov said the agency had received proposals from businessmen in several regions, and Lenta.ru reported nearly 95,000 IT vacancies remained unfilled in Russia since March 21, while the Russian Association for Electronic Communications estimated 70,000 to 100,000 IT specialists will leave the country in a second emigration wave.
Bottom line: Russia holds nearly 875,000 inmates, and the penitentiary service says forced laborers average about 20,000 rubles (roughly $281) per month - so the pool of workers is large and the labor is cheap, with no stated vetting standard for what 'IT skills' means in an inmate's record.
Read the original at Krebs on Security ↗
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