Russian major private bank prohibits employees from working remotely abroad

(MENAFN) Tinkoff, one of Russia's major private banks, has reportedly prohibited its employees from working remotely abroad, with the exception of three countries, as per a report from a Russian business daily.

The new policy, set to take effect next year, permits remote work only from Belarus, Armenia, and Kazakhstan, where the bank has development centers focused on fintech services.

The development centers, employing 3,500 individuals, are responsible for creating internet banking and app-related fintech services.

The news agency declared that there are two reasons for the restriction.

Firstly, Tinkoff is designated as a systemically important financial institution with access to critical information infrastructure, subject to access restrictions under the Federal Service for Technical and Export Control requirements.

Secondly, the bank cites concerns about data security as a contributing factor to the remote work limitations.

“Amid the high risk of attacks on IT infrastructure, we must act with total responsibility and prevent any leaks of sensitive information, especially abroad,” the news agency cited the bank’s spokesperson as stating.

The spokesperson also mentioned that any employee with a laptop visiting a country without a development center must undergo a complete disabling of their critical access to the bank's systems.

MENAFN29112023000045015839ID1107507418