Russia has established itself as a bit of a haven for cybercrime. One can quite easily buy illegal web traffic from vendors in that country, and some have recently speculated that the only reason the creators of the Carberp Trojan were arrested was because their malware was directed at Russian Nationals, instead of exclusively at outsiders, a practice the Russian government has historically seemed to let fly. Though, its evident that things are about to change. The Russian Interior Ministry now says it plans to go after Russian ISP’s who host customers that share illegal and copyrighted material.

The Interior Ministry’s cybercrime department is currently auditing internet service providers on a country-wide level, and will likely have results no later than mid-May. The new effort will go after not only users, but the providers who host any illegal content they’re found with as well. Head Director of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Moscow region Seralinov Jannat has said that there will be penalties for the distribution of pirated movies and pornography distributed to minors, both punishable by prison terms of up to 6 years. Some have speculated that the stricter rules concerning hosting are indicative of some of the latest presidential amendments to the Civil Code, mapped out last week in the State Duma. President Dmitry Medvedev suggested that these changes take effect in September.

No ISP’s in Russia have yet reported any monitoring of their networks regarding this extension of infringement liability, and while it must be proven that Russian ISP’s knowingly distributed illegal content, 6 years in that country’s penal system is no joke. Picture the lands north of The Wall in HBO’s Game of Thrones series to get an idea of a Siberian prison.