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RUSSIA 'SUCCESSFULLY TESTS' ITS UNPLUGGED INTERNET

Published
24 December 2019

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Image source, Reuters
Image caption,
The net independence plan is seen as a way for Russia's government to get more
control over online life
By Jane Wakefield
Technology reporter


Russia has successfully tested a country-wide alternative to the global
internet, its government has announced.

Details of what the test involved were vague but, according to the Ministry of
Communications, ordinary users did not notice any changes.

The results will now be presented to President Putin.

Experts remain concerned about the trend for some countries to dismantle the
internet.

"Sadly, the Russian direction of travel is just another step in the increasing
breaking-up of the internet," said Prof Alan Woodward, a computer scientist at
the University of Surrey.

"Increasingly, authoritarian countries which want to control what citizens see
are looking at what Iran and China have already done.



"It means people will not have access to dialogue about what is going on in
their own country, they will be kept within their own bubble."

 * Russia internet: Law introducing new controls comes into force
 * Russia internet freedom: Thousands protest against cyber-security bill
 * Russia considers 'unplugging' from internet


HOW WOULD A DOMESTIC INTERNET WORK?

The initiative involves restricting the points at which Russia's version of the
net connects to its global counterpart, giving the government more control over
what its citizens can access.

"That would effectively get ISPs [internet service providers] and telcos to
configure the internet within their borders as a gigantic intranet, just like a
large corporation does," explained Prof Woodward.

So how would the government establish what some have dubbed a "sovereign Runet"?

Countries receive foreign web services via undersea cables or "nodes" -
connection points at which data is transmitted to and from other countries'
communication networks. These would need to be blocked or at least regulated.

This would require the co-operation of domestic ISPs and would be much easier to
achieve if there were just a handful of state-owned firms involved. The more
networks and connections a country has, the more difficult it is to control
access.



Then Russia would need to create an alternative system.

In Iran, the National Information Network allows access to web services while
policing all content on the network and limiting external information. It is run
by the state-owned Telecommunication Company of Iran.

One of the benefits of effectively turning all internet access into a
government-controlled walled garden, is that virtual private networks (VPNs),
often used to circumvent blocks, would not work.

Another example of this is the so-called Great Firewall of China. It blocks
access to many foreign internet services, which in turn has helped several
domestic tech giants establish themselves.

Russia already tech champions of its own, such as Yandex and Mail.Ru, but other
local firms might also benefit.

The country plans to create its own Wikipedia and politicians have passed a bill
that bans the sale of smartphones that do not have Russian software
pre-installed.




TECHNICAL CHALLENGES

One expert warned that the policy could help the state repress free speech, but
added that it was not a foregone conclusion that it would succeed.

"The Russian government has run into technical challenges in the past when
trying to increase online control, such as its largely unsuccessful efforts to
block Russians from accessing encrypted messaging app Telegram," Justin Sherman,
a cyber-security policy fellow at the New America think tank, told the BBC.

"Without more information about this test though, it's hard to assess exactly
how far Russia has progressed in the path towards an isolatable domestic
internet.

"And on the business front, it remains to be seen just how much domestic and
foreign pushback Russia will get."

Local news agencies, including Pravda, reported the deputy head of the Ministry
of Communications had said that the tests of the scheme had gone as planned.

"The results of the exercises showed that, in general, both the authorities and
telecoms operators are ready to effectively respond to emerging risks and
threats, to ensure the stable functioning of both the internet and unified
telecommunication network in the Russian Federation," said Alexey Sokolov.

The state-owned Tass news agency reported the tests had assessed the
vulnerability of internet-of-things devices, and also involved an exercise to
test Runet's ability to stand up to "external negative influences".


MORE ON THIS STORY

 * Russia tightens control on national internet
   
   1 November 2019
   
   

 * Mass protests against Russia internet bill
   
   10 March 2019
   
   

 * Russia considers 'unplugging' from internet
   
   11 February 2019
   
   





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