One of Russia's top cybercrimes police units is now under new management

The Information Security Center (TsIB) at Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) has new management, sources tell the news agency RBC. The center’s new head is reportedly Sergey Skorokhodov, who specializes in the investigation of cybercrimes.

RBC says TsIB’s previous director, Andrey Gerasimov, has now formally resigned. The news agency’s sources claim the decision was made long ago, and Gerasimov has spent the last several months on an extended vacation. His ouster is reportedly connected to last year’s arrest of two TsIB employees on treason charges.

According to RBC, Sergey Skorokhodov served as Gerasimov’s deputy. Before coming to TsIB, he reportedly worked on migrant policy and resettlement issues in the FSB.

The news agency SPARK-Interfax says Skorokhodov was officially appointed to his new position on July 26, 2017.

• In December 2016, Russian police detained two TsIB employees, Sergey Mikhailov and Dmitry Dokuchayev, on treason charges. There is no official information about the cases against these men, though unconfirmed reports say they may have been working with a foreign state. According to Rosbalt, the treason case could be tied to the hacker group “Anonymous International,” whose arrested members have testified against the FSB officers.