Criminal liability for unlawful impact on the critical information infrastructure of the Russian Federation

Introduction: the article is devoted to criminal protection of the critical information infrastructure of the Russian Federation. On January 1, 2018, Article 2741 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation entered into force. This establishes criminal liability for unlawful influence on the critical information infrastructure of the Russian Federation. At the same time, Federal Law No. 187-FZ dated 26.07.2017 "On the Security of the Critical Information Infrastructure of the Russian Federation" began its operation. The challenge of implementation the provisions of these legislative acts is insufficiently researched and still needs theoretical understanding. Materials and Methods: the author used philosophical, general scientific and specific scientific methods of scientific cognition: analysis and synthesis, induction and deduction, logical and structural-functional methods. The research materials were the norms of criminal legislation, norms of other branches of law, materials of judicial and investigative practice, as well as the works of domestic scientists devoted to the issues of criminal liability for unlawful impact on critical information infrastructure objects. Results: the article examined objective and subjective signs of undue influence on the critical information infrastructure. The author came to the conclusion that Article 2741 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation has serious flaws that are rise to a number of enforcement challenges. The defects of legislative technique outlined in the article need to be corrected. Discussion and Conclusions: it is substantiated that the uncertainty of the regulatory requirements enshrined in Article 2741 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation reduces the effectiveness of its application.