One of Beeline shops in Moscow. Photo: A.Savin / Wikipedia Commons
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A Russian-owned data centre is operating in Helsinki without prior notification to Finnish authorities. The facility, run by telecom operator Beeline, has prompted calls for urgent legislative review due to national security concerns.
Beeline, one of Russia’s largest mobile operators, quietly opened a telecommunications hub in the Finnish capital. The centre supports faster data transfers and improves connectivity to Russian services, including the Telegram messaging app. Beeline is owned by Vimpelcom, one of Russia’s 20 most valuable publicly listed companies.
The Finnish Transport and Communications Agency’s Cybersecurity Centre confirmed that it had no knowledge of the centre’s establishment. Because of the facility’s small size, Finnish law did not require the company to apply for permits or submit advance notifications.
Classified as an internet exchange point (IXP), the data centre falls into a regulatory category typically reserved for minor, domestic units. As such, the exemption allowed Beeline to install infrastructure in Finland without oversight.
Jarno Limnéll, Member of Parliament and cybersecurity expert representing the National Coalition Party, said the case illustrates a significant gap in Finland’s regulatory system.
“This exemption has in practice allowed one of Russia’s largest telecom operators to place network infrastructure in Finland as a small-scale data centre without any prior oversight by the authorities,” Limnéll said.
He stressed the need to re-evaluate current rules, which were designed to ease permit processes for small, local operations.
“Technology is advancing more rapidly than before. The challenge now is how legislation can keep pace with these developments, both in terms of opportunities and risks,” he said.
Limnéll warned against viewing all digital infrastructure through a purely technical lens.
“In the current geopolitical situation, Russia is actively seeking to identify and exploit weaknesses in our legislation for its own interests,” he said.
He called for a careful review of such cases, combining both legal and security perspectives.
“The risk is that legal gaps will be used for hybrid operations. We must not be naive,” Limnéll said.
Beeline has not issued a statement about its Helsinki facility. Finnish authorities have not indicated whether any changes to current law are being considered.
HT
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Source: www.helsinkitimes.fi
