Kaspersky investigations head arrested over treason allegations in Russia

Only in Russia?

Ruslan Stoyanov, head of computer incidents investigation at Kaspersky Lab, has been arrested in Russia over accusations of treason.

Stoyanov was arrested in December, according to the Russian newspaper Kommersant, along with an employee of the Federal Security Service (FSB), Russia's successor organisation to the Soviet KGB.

Computer security company Kaspersky has confirmed the arrest and the criminal investigation of its employee, but was also keen to assert that it is nothing to do with the company.

Kaspersky spokeswoman Maria Shirokova told Associated Press that the company has no details about the charges and added that the investigation pre-dates his employment with Kaspersky.

Before joining Kaspersky in July 2012, Stoyanov's LinkedIn profile lists him as the deputy director of "Indrik" - Indrik being the name of a mythical beast in Russian folklore. However, Stoyanov has also had stints at telecoms company RTComm.ru and in the Ministry of Interior Moscow Cyber Crime Unit, where he was a major.

The arrest of Stoyanov, though, may be political and could indicate a more hostile atmosphere for companies like Kaspersky. It has been able to avoid much of the politicking that affects large and high-profile businesses in Russia, partly shielded by the sheen of being the only high-profile Russian technology company.

Russian investigative journalist Andrei Soldatov described the arrest of the Kaspersky manager as "unprecedented".

He told Associated Press: "It destroys a system that has been 20 years in the making, the system of relations between intelligence agencies and companies like Kaspersky."

"Intelligence agencies used to ask for Kaspersky's advice, and this is how informal ties were built. This romance is clearly over."

In March 2015, newswire Bloomberg carried an article questioning whether Kaspersky founder Eugene Kaspersky was "in bed" (or the sauna) with the FSB.

However, cordial relations with the authorities - or rather, the people represented by "the authorities" - is invariably a prerequisite for building and maintaining any business of any size in Russia today.

At the time, Computing commented: "You don't build a company of Kaspersky's size without making sure that you stay on the right side of the right people."