New | Russia’s Kaspersky Labs signs deal with China Cyber Security Company as Beijing and Moscow call for end to US domination of internet

Russian software security giant Kaspersky Lab has formed a strategic partnership with a Chinese state-own company as Beijing and Moscow work more closely in policing their cyberspace.

The deal was signed on Wednesday at one of the panel meetings of China’s second World Internet Conference in Wuzhen, Zhejiang province.

READ MORE: UK and US spy agencies targeted Russian and Chinese anti-virus firms: Snowden leaks

Hours before the meeting, President Xi Jinping  gave a keynote speech stressing the need for a new set of global rules on the use of the internet and the importance of respecting cyber-sovereignty. Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, who also attended the event, supported Xi.

At the internet security panel meeting in the afternoon, Eugene Kaspersky – founder of the Russian software security giant that bears his name – signed a deal with the China Cyber Security Company. The two sides did not elaborate on the extent of their cooperation.

China and Russia are both accused by Western governments of sponsoring hacker attacks and organised cyberespionage. But experts from the two countries on Wednesday said they were in fact the biggest victims of cybercrimes.

They were also concerned that rapid advances in technology would make it increasingly difficult for states to control the flow of information, posing challenges to order and stability.