Researcher from the Institute for Cognitive Neurosciences Speaks at Ural Forum on Cybersecurity in Finance
Junior Research Fellow Eliana Monakhova from the Institute for Cognitive Neuroscience took part in the session “The Art of Defeating Threats” at the Ural Forum on Cybersecurity in Finance. The fourth edition of the forum was held at the Yekaterinburg-Expo Congress Center and brought together more than 1,600 participants, including bank executives, federal government officials, and information security experts.
The session “The Art of Defeating Threats” took place on February 19 and was moderated by Mikhail Mamuta, a member of the Bank of Russia Board of Directors. He set the tone for the discussion by emphasizing that the human factor lies at the heart of cybersecurity. Other participants included State Duma deputy Konstantin Bakharev, representative of the Prosecutor General’s Office Oleg Kipkaev, Sergey Kramarenko (Alfa-Bank), Anna Kulashova, Managing Director at Kaspersky Lab, and Sergey Khrenov (MegaFon). The panel discussed legislative, technological, and law enforcement measures to protect citizens from cyber fraudsters.
Eliana Monakhova presented a neuroscientific perspective on the issue of fraud. Her research at the Institute of Cognitive Neurosciences focuses on how people perceive manipulative and false information, how mechanisms for evaluating source credibility work, and how emotional states influence decision-making — including under pressure from fraudsters.
“Psychology and human behavior are the first barrier fraudsters encounter. If we don’t work on people’s reactions, critical thinking skills, and emotional regulation, technical and legal solutions may prove far less effective. Neuroscience shows that vulnerability to fraud is not a matter of ‘stupidity’ or carelessness, but rather a result of how the brain functions under stress and information overload. Understanding these mechanisms opens the way to truly effective prevention programs,” Monakhova noted.
The Ural Forum “Cybersecurity in Finance” is one of Russia’s largest specialized platforms for discussing information security challenges in the financial sector. This year’s program featured around 30 plenary sessions and 50 panel discussions on combating fraud, data protection, fighting deepfakes and personal data leaks, the use of artificial intelligence, and import substitution. The forum’s general partners included VTB Bank, Gazprombank, Positive Technologies, PSB Bank, Sber, and Skala^r. In addition to session halls, the Yekaterinburg-Expo venue hosted partner exhibition stands, developer showcases, and spaces for informal networking. The event also offered a rich cultural program, including a gala dinner, tours of Yekaterinburg, and the opportunity to visit a ski resort.
Participation in the forum was supported by a grant from the Russian Science Foundation (RSF), project No. 24-18-00432 “Neurophysiological Mechanisms of Manipulative Information Perception: Factors and Strategies of Resilience.”
