MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 23rd December, 2020) Russian Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Minister Igor Zubov on Wednesday made assurances that the security of the ministry's genome reference database of the Russian population is sound and that speculations about the United States trying to acquire it are part of a pressure campaign against certain laws.
Earlier in the day, the lower house passed a bill on expanding the genetic information database, which is used by the interior ministry for forensic expertise during investigations. The database contains biological data of people sentenced for grave offenses and sex crimes, as well as unidentified bodies. During the discussion, lawmaker Elena Drapeko said that there were concerns voiced on the internet about the United States possibly collecting information from the genome database, mentioning a lack of trust in the interior ministry's other databases security.
"I have nothing to say because this is simply absurd, that the Americans are collecting [data] and bring it somewhere. I mean, they do collect [data], but not through this database. It simply impossible for [the database] to be used [by the US], technically and ideologically-wise, or in any way," Zubov said.
The official also slammed the speculations on the internet.
"Regarding the internet, we are currently seeing many attacks against [the interior ministry] and lawmakers trying to put information pressure because [these attackers] disapprove of the very same laws that could lead to a tangible improvement of the crime situation," Zubov added.
The bill will expand the list of people subject to mandatory genomic registration, adding those sentenced and serving prison time as well as people suspected or charged with crimes and those under administrative arrest. The bill will also define the term "genomic information" as biometric personal data.
As of now, the genome database contains 965,315 items.
