DUSHANBE, April 16, 2009, – A large-scale operation against cybercrime, dubbed Proxy, is currently being carried out in the territories of member nations of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), Russia’s news agency RIA Novosti reported yesterday referring to Russian Minister of Interiors Rashid Nurgaliyev.

“Last year, we proposed to organize activities under auspices of the CSTO to reveal and prevent information resources of criminal character in national segments of Internet and the first joint operation is currently being carried out,” Nurgaliyev told journalists in Yerevan yesterday following the CSTO interior ministers’ meeting.

The meeting opened in the Armenian capital on April 15 and is expected to run till April 17; the meeting’s agenda includes issues related to formation and functioning of collective rapid reaction force and cooperation between law enforcement agencies in the CSTO format.

Speaking to reporters, the Russian minister said that similar events, dubbed Set (Network), have been conducted in Russia for already ten years.  “Last year alone, 610 destructive Internet-resources were shut down and 270 criminal proceedings were instituted,” Nurgaliyev said.

Founded in May 1992, the CSTO now groups Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.