News emerged over the weekend that Beeline, one of Russia's leading mobile operators, has opened a telecommunications data centre in Helsinki. Now Finnish authorities say they were unaware of the data centre's existence.
The facility aims to boost data transfer speeds and improve access to services like messaging app Telegram. Beeline's parent company, Vimpelcom, is among Russia's 20 most valuable publicly-trading companies.
The Finnish Transport and Communications Agency's Cybersecurity Centre said it did not receive any prior notification about the Beeline facility, and as it appears to be a minor unit, no permits were legally required.
MP and cybersecurity expert Jarno Limnéll (NCP) told Yle that the Beeline case raises concerns that a Russian company may be exploiting loopholes in Finnish law.
The data centre is classified as an internet exchange point, or IXP, which is typically quite small in Finland.
According to Limnéll, there has been a desire to simplify the permit process for smaller facilities.
"But now, this exemption has in practice allowed one of Russia's largest telecom operators to place network infrastructure in Finland as a small-scale data centre without any prior oversight by the authorities," Limnéll explained.
Legislation must keep up
Limnéll said that while Finnish law has fallen short in this case from a security perspective, authorities should also avoid viewing everything through threats and risks.
He pointed out that technology is developing faster and more radically than before.
"The big question is how our legislation can keep pace with this technological development, both in terms of opportunities and risks," he said.
According to Limnéll, it is important not to be naive.
"In the current geopolitical situation, with issues of hybrid influence, Russia is actively seeking to find and exploit weaknesses in our legislation for its interests. That's why cases like this must be examined closely from both a security and legislative perspective, so that necessary changes can be made to keep Finland safe," Limnéll said.
