VK Boosts Cybersecurity Budget by 25x – CIO Alexey Volkov on Cyber Threats and Attackers’ Goals

Recommendation: Increase the cybersecurity budget by 25x within 12 months, link spending to real-time threat indicators, and run monthly incident-response drills that mirror attacker goals.

Volkov frames the plan around spheres with the highest exposure–cloud access, identity, endpoints, and data flows. This basic reallocation дозволяє strengthen controls, generate more precise alerts, and create real-world realism in defence across critical assets while keeping complexity manageable. The approach emphasises concrete outcomes over sheer activity, and it uses prompts to guide simulations that expose gaps in seconds rather than days.

The process centres on a 12‑month cadence with staged milestones: purchase automation tools, expand threat intelligence feeds, and build a governance layer that delivers high confidence metrics. Teams will generate dashboards, run red-team exercises, and align training with the course of evolving threats. This structure ensures the entire organisation speaks the same language of risk, enabling everything from policy to practice in real time.

Attackers aim for data exfiltration, service disruption, and supply-chain manipulation. VK will monitor signals from youtube channels and gemini-based intel, guided by tadviser to sharpen risk scoring and response playbooks. By combining public chatter with private telemetry, Volkov argues that the company can anticipate moves and disrupt plans before they materialise.

Expected results include faster detection and response: MTTD dropping from a baseline to around 2 hours, MTTR shrinking to under 30 minutes, and protection coverage reaching near‑complete consistency across cloud, endpoints, and data layers. The 25x program also targets a realism in the simulated environment, ensuring metrics translate into actionable improvements in real operations.

Timeframe and Milestones for the 25x Budget Increase

Recommendation: start with a 24-month roadmap that prioritises people and platform security in year one and shifts to automation and resilience in year two. For a 25x uplift, allocate: People & Platform Security 60%; Monitoring & Incident Response 25%; Governance & Compliance 15%. If the baseline is X, this scales to X × 25 and lets us produce concrete, repeatable results. Plan to onboard core teams quickly; look for high-impact outcomes in the early quarters and keep the flow aligned with creators and business partners. Tadviser input helps set the level of governance, while vertex analytics deliver rich, actionable insight across the platform. This approach is suitable for a platform-led safety programme and supports future needs and a steady music-like cadence of delivery.

Recommended Timeline

Phase 1 (months 1–12) centres on people, processes, and foundational controls to establish security and a robust platform. Phase 2 (months 13–24) scales automation, threat intelligence, and continuous improvement to reach the 25x target with measurable outcomes. Each quarter includes a concrete milestone, a clear owner, and a dashboard of metrics that reveal progress into the next step. Look for a decrease in time-to-detect, a reduction in remediation seconds, and a higher level of confidence amongst business units.

Milestones and KPIs by Quarter

Allocation by Security Domain and Key Spending Milestones

Recommendation: Allocate 30% of the budget to Identity & Access Management (IAM) and enforce MFA for high-risk accounts in Q1, then roll out SSO for critical apps in Q2 and continue with least-privilege enforcement in Q3-Q4. This focuses the most on the likely initial access path and reduces access abuse across the environment. Build models of attacker paths and consider the background of your user base to tailor controls; include social engineering drills and student-friendly training to improve awareness. Align the plan with current threat landscape and keep the approach transparent so teams can bring feedback into each milestone.

• Identity & Access Management (IAM)

  Budget share: 30%. Milestones: Q1 baseline IAM, MFA for admins and high‑risk users; Q2 deploy SSO for 60–70% of critical apps; Q3 implement conditional access and just-in-time access; Q4 establish continuous access reviews and least-privilege enforcement. Costs reflect professional-grade tooling and open integrations, with a comparison against the legacy stack to show realised gains. Produce educational video clips and an animation to explain phishing and access controls; open training materials ensure knowledge is accessible for all staff. The estimated cost is modest relative to risk reduction – around 20–25% of the IAM budget line is reserved for training and open content delivery. This approach should bring measurable reductions in incidents, which is especially important when the student background or contractor pools increase in the workforce.

• Network Security & Perimeter

  Budget share: 18%. Milestones: Q1 deploy next-gen firewall and micro-segmentation on critical subnets; Q2 tighten east-west controls and VPN posture; Q3 integrate network threat detection with SIEM; Q4 refine anomaly detection and automate containment. Focus on cheap but effective controls that scale beyond a single site; use open standards and standard camera logs where applicable to enrich telemetry. The plan targets the overexposure caused by flat networks and delivers faster containment if an incident occurs.

• Data Protection & Encryption

  Budget share: 14%. Milestones: Q1 data classification and DLP policy; Q2 client‑side encryption for sensitive data; Q3 database encryption and KMS (key management) hardening; Q4 backup verification and restore drills. Include a formal cost comparison against prior year and establish a clear cost baseline (cost) for key management. Use architecture that is professional-grade yet affordable, and document the full lifecycle of keys to prevent loss.

• Endpoint Security

  Budget share: 12%. Milestones: Q1 EDR deployment across all endpoints; Q2 phishing‑resistant mail security and device hardening; Q3 automated remediation playbooks; Q4 continuous updates and weekly health checks. Include video guidance for remediation steps and admin dashboards; ensure the cost is aligned with the value of reduced incident response time. Use a background of real-world student and junior staff experiences to shape quick wins and lessons learned.

• Cloud Security

  Budget share: 8%. Milestones: Q1 secure cloud accounts, enforce MFA, rotate access keys; Q2 implement workload identity and secure IaC pipelines; Q3 container security scanning and policy as code; Q4 governance, cost controls, and ongoing risk scoring. Include a professional-grade tooling baseline and a open framework to enable quick comparisons (comparison) with the on-premise baseline. The cloud plan should be agile and scalable, bringing cloud hygiene to parity with on-premise controls.

• Application Security & SDLC

  Budget share: 8%. Milestones: Q1 integrate SAST/DAST into CI; Q2 remediate high‑risk flaws; Q3 implement secure coding reviews; Q4 run secure development education using videos and hands‑on labs. Build models of OWASP risks specific to VK products and track remediation velocity. Use cross-team ownership to ensure access is not blocked by silos, and measure cost per defect avoided to justify investments (cost).

• Monitoring, Detection & Response

  Budget share: 61%. Milestones: Q1 deploy centralised SIEM with baseline dashboards; Q2 add UEBA models and alert enrichment; Q3 implement incident response playbooks and tabletop exercises; Q4 run monthly security briefs and drills. Leverage open telemetry adaptors and educational videos to raise the team’s readiness; include camera and proxy log correlation to improve visibility. This domain underpins 24/7 readiness and helps shorten MTTR.

• Governance, Risk & Compliance

  Budget share: 41%. Milestones: Q1 map controls to frameworks (NIST, ISO); Q2 implement risk scoring and acceptance criteria; Q3 conduct internal audits and control testing; Q4 automate evidence collection and reporting pipelines. Align with a clear comparison against regulatory requirements and internal policy. Regular governance reviews ensure available traceability and continuous improvement, with cost considerations clearly documented (cost).

Attackers’ Goals: Priority Objectives and Implications for VK

Lock down suspicious credential use within hours and establish a quick containment protocol to interrupt attacker movements. This quick action reduces how far an intruder can spread and buys time for tracing origins. From login endpoints to API surfaces, make every step observable. We plan a threat-hunting cadence that ties key indicators to live rules, enabling smooth orchestration across services. While no system is flawless, this approach markedly lowers risk and builds resilience.

Attackers pursue several key objectives that VK must anticipate. First, credential abuse to seize user accounts and enable rapid, unauthorised actions. Second, monetisation through subscription fraud and service abuse that drains legitimate revenue. Third, disruption of production workflows to inject malicious content into videorolikov streams and degrade trust across servisov. They seek to maximise the kolichestvo of compromised sessions and kontenta generatsii, while leveraging emotional manipulation to drive engagement. They probe glubinu depth of VK’s feature set and data flows to identify tochki vkhoda in API endpoints, shot sequences, and content pipelines, building a karta that reveals how to pivot into a new vertex of access. The fantasy that attackers operate in isolation is false: every misconfiguration, legacy integration, and weak credential stands as a vulnerability. From every login to publishing, each step is observable and can be blocked with tight controls. For vsekh pol'zovateley, defences must be layered and fast.

Implications for VK require a proactive, model-driven stance. Build a threat-model that translates into a map of attacker paths, from initial access to impact, with checkpoints at key points. Deploy a technology stack that collects real-time telemetry and presents a vertex-level view of risk across services and video clips. Strengthen production segmentation, MFA for high-risk actions, and automated responses to containment. Develop a model of attacker behaviour and run regular exercises to validate it; ensure detection works across planning and production environments. This approach reduces exposure where the risk sits highest, especially around authentication, content creation, and monetisation channels (subscription). The system should deliver smooth user experiences for all users even under pressure, and tasks work together so the defence works as a cohesive layer around VK’s future.

Immediate Actions for VK

Enforce MFA for admin and high-risk accounts; establish device trust and conditional access; deploy rapid containment runbooks for common attack patterns; extend telemetry to cover the path from login to publishing; run weekly threat-hunting cycles with targets to keep MTTD under 1 hour and MTTR under 4 hours. Harden video production pipelines and implement subscription-verification checks to curb fraud. Create a unified карта of attacker techniques to speed detection, and align production scheduling with defence signals so deliveries remain smooth for всіх користувачів. Focus on production environments, расширяя depth of monitoring and sharpening точок контролю, so that кожен shot and action across сервісів gets immediate protection.

Threat Scenarios VK Should Prepare For in the Next 12 Months

Start by strengthening identity protection and API security; deploy zero-trust access, MFA, and robust session controls within 90 days to drastically reduce credential-based breaches and set a clear baseline for automated response.

Key Scenarios and Defensive Actions

Credential abuse and social engineering will remain a top entry vector. Enforce adaptive MFA, device fingerprinting, risk-based authentication, and real-time alerts. Run monthly phishing drills and maintain a rapid containment playbook. Train staff and users with concise educational content, protecting life of users and preserving trust. Implement voice analytics to detect vishing attempts and monitor for unusual login locations; ensure alerts trigger automatic session suspension when needed.

API abuse and third-party integration risk demand hardened gateways and code signing. Apply strict rate limits, OAuth2 with short-lived tokens, and IP allowlists. Enforce mandatory SBOMs and software component analysis for all critical releases; integrate CI/CD security checks and continuous vulnerability scanning. Use current dashboards and visual cues to quickly spot anomalies in API traffic and integration flows, matching risk signals with responders.

Misuse of generative content, including deepfake video/voice for social engineering, requires detection and deterrence. Deploy AI-based deepfake detection on incoming media and user-generated content; watermark educational assets and alert risk signals when generative assets appear in user workflows. Develop a standard scene and composition template for official VK communications to ensure authentic visuals match the brand voice.

Supply chain and vendor risk threaten code quality and incident response. Require signed code, regular third-party risk assessments, and strict change management. Maintain current threat intel feeds and run quarterly tabletop exercises to test supplier compromise scenarios; align with partners on incident response to reduce dwell time and protect user data.

Insider threats and data exfiltration risk require strict least-privilege access, DLP, and endpoint monitoring. Automate anomaly detection for internal data movements, enforce robust log streaming, and conduct quarterly access reviews. Maintain the voice of security in product teams so only authorised data leaves VK systems, using life-cycle governance to track data from source to usage.

Budget Alignment, Metrics and Timelines

With the uplift in funding, plan for a multi-stage rollout. Allocate funding in the tens of millions range for SOC modernisation, threat intel, and automation tooling; funding invested should multiply risk reduction. Target a 60% reduction in mean time to containment and a 40% drop in phishing click-throughs over 12 months. Establish quarterly milestones: MFA and API hardening by month 3; threat intel sharing and vendor risk management by month 6; automated detections and response playbooks by month 9; full-scale incident simulation and data protection controls by month 12. Track current threat trends and adjust controls weekly; ensure visuals and dashboards provide clear, actionable signals to operators and users.

Cross-Team Coordination: Roles, Dependencies, and Process Flows

Establish a shared RACI and a cross-team coordination board within 24 hours to align on priorities and handoffs. Use a flexible cadence and keep artifacts clear for all stakeholders, from engineering to executives. The approach connects Russian teams and India-based partners, and uses quick eight-second summaries to brief leadership; produce a clip in studio style for quick on-demand updates on YouTube.

Roles and Responsibilities

• Assign lead owners for security, engineering, product, and operations; teams can escalate through defined routes to the incident commander, ensuring fast responses.
• Establish points of contact for each domain: security lead, platform owner, product manager; maintain a live mapping and review quarterly.
• Include Russian colleagues and India-based partners to diversify inputs; ensure time zone coverage and language clarity to avoid delays.
• Define methods for threat modelling, vulnerability handling, and change control; create owner-mimics to practise roles in tabletop exercises.
• Rotate roles to keep knowledge moving, so teams feel empowered and less siloed; use a cling of signals to indicate status changes.
• Socialise updates via YouTube clips and studio briefs, sharing a short clip that explains who does what and when, so team members and leaders know where to focus.

Process Flows and Dependencies

1. Map all dependencies across teams, labelling owner, data source, timing, and points of contact; ensure data moves from one stage to the next with clear handoffs and minimal wait.
2. Design data exchange contracts and SLAs for threat intel feeds, patch status, and code changes; tag most critical interfaces and set reviews on calendar.
3. Establish a daily 15-minute stand-up with a focused agenda; include a quick generated summary of current risks and blockers, so decisions flow without delay.
4. Publish artifacts that were generated (generated) from playbooks, runbooks and checklists; keep them in a central repository accessible to both russia and india teams, and update them after each iteration.
5. Implement a knowledge-sharing channel for quick updates: a short clip uploaded to YouTube, supplemented by a studio briefing for new joiners; this approach helps you know and feel the state of threats and mitigations.

KPIs and Dashboards: How Progress Will Be Measured

Recommendation: implement a KPI-driven dashboard within 14 days that streams generated data from security tooling, marketing platforms, and the subscription system. Start with 6 core KPIs that cover security, budget, access depth, platform adoption, and subscription health. This creates points of truth and lets you compare different teams on a unified platform. Currently, teams rely on different spreadsheets and static reports, slowing decisions and clouding risk. I think this approach will scale across the organisation. Over time, these metrics will be refreshed and surfaced to executives, enabling faster decisions and alignment. This will give marketers everything they need to act, and some platforms offer configurable templates to accelerate rollout.

Core KPIs

Define 6 to 8 KPIs: security incidents per month, mean time to detect (MTTD), mean time to respond (MTTR), false-positive rate, budget utilisation against plan (budget), access provisioning time (access), platform adoption depth, and subscription churn. These are the most critical metrics shaping risk visibility and cost control. Use gemini-powered insights to align data with campaigns and user scenes and movements. Ensure the data windows are eight-second to deliver near real-time visibility for timely actions, while keeping depth for analysts. Everything aligns to your subscription goals and security posture.

Implementation and Access

Plan: assign data owners, implement role-based access with least privilege, and establish a weekly review rhythm across CIO, security, and marketing leads. Features include real-time alerts, 8–12 pre-built dashboards, and a subscription-focused view. Ensure marketers see subscription health while security monitors incidents and movements. Whether you want a single pane or segmented views, the platform will scale as teams grow. Include governance and data ownership documentation; report progress against budget and safety goals to leadership.