Russia is preparing to disconnect from the global Internet and launch a 'sovereign network'

Russia has begun active preparations for disconnecting from the global Internet, reports NEXT.

Photo: Shutterstock

The Ministry of Digital Development, Telecommunications and Mass Media of the Russian Federation sent two telegrams to the executive authorities regarding the transition to the .ru domain and the use of DNS servers located in Russia, reports Spletnik.

According to the telegrams, state authorities must provide a list of Internet resources and data on the need to access them outside of Russia by March 9. Until March 11, they must switch to DNS servers located on the territory of the Russian Federation; change, update and complicate passwords; remove all Javascript code from foreign resources from HTML page templates; transfer sites to the .ru domain zone. By March 15, officials must report to the Ministry of Digital Development on the measures taken.

#Russia began active preparations for disconnection from the global Internet

No later than March 11, all servers and domains must be transferred to the #Russian areas. In addition, detailed data on the network infrastructure of the sites is being collected. pic.twitter.com/wOCdRqOJej

- NEXTA (@nexta_tv) March 6, 2022

Are they really going to turn off the "external" Internet in Russia?

Meduza asked the cyber-lawyer to tell how such a scenario is possible and what the Russians should do if this does happen.

“If you don’t succumb to digital paranoia and don’t think that all cross-border data transfer points will be turned off, then these telegrams can be interpreted as instructions for government agencies. It is needed in case domain registrars, hosters, and providers suddenly turn off services associated with the state and state-owned companies as part of the sanctions,” says cyber lawyer and co-founder of the Roskomsvoboda community Sarkis Darbinyan.

He explains that beyond that, the recommendations that are listed there will really help protect government Internet resources in the event of cyber attacks. As we know, Anonymous is making many attacks on the infrastructure of government agencies, websites and banks. Of course, changing passwords, two-factor authentication help avoid serious consequences.

Is such a shutdown even possible?

“We must understand that we cannot disconnect from the global Internet overnight. Technically, you can turn off all points of delimited transmission and that will be the end [and there will be no global Internet in Russia], but from the point of view of economic factors, it is difficult to imagine that the shutdown will be immediate. The entire Russian economy is tied to the global network, its shutdown is a blow much worse than the sanctions that are now being introduced and are already affecting the economy,” says the cyber lawyer.

How will the “sovereign” Internet work then?

Himself domestic - or "sovereign"- the Internet implies the creation of a copy of the global Internet within Russia with a national domain name system, with a national register of addresses and with national Russian services with the "ru" and "rf" domains.

“With a “sovereign” Internet, you will be able to access any resource. When it is entered, the database of domain names is copied, which is responsible for the connection of IP addresses and until Roskomnadzor includes a particular site in the registry, it will work. But if it is blocked, then the providers will limit direct access, and in such situations, VPN will definitely not help. In this case, the entire infrastructure will be very easily controlled and then Russia will plunge into digital darkness,” he says.

On the subject: The International Court of Justice in The Hague began considering the lawsuit of Ukraine against Russia: what does it threaten Putin with?

After the previous story Telegram blocking, Roskomnadzor did work on the bugs. And today it has much more technical means to restrict access to various resources. But it probably won't work 100%. Following the example of Kazakhstan, we can say that users have the opportunity to send proxies to each other through SMS gateways.

For example, Telegram is tenacious, but, of course, if Roskomnadzor starts targeted blocking, then ping will be long, everything will work poorly, and many users will experience connection problems.

What can be done to stay connected?

“Now the only thing that can be done is to download as many tools as possible that will help you stay online as long as there is at least one channel of communication with the outside world,” says Sarkis Darbinyan. — For example, you can use applications such as Psiphon or Tor browser. But, of course, if communication with the outside world is completely broken, then you will either have to communicate with the help of pigeons, or look for some other ways that are not connected with the global Internet.”

You may be interested in: top New York news, stories of our immigrants, and helpful tips about life in the Big Apple - read it all on ForumDaily New York.

“The likelihood of such an outcome in the current situation cannot be denied. I would say that now the probability of a “sovereign” Internet is about 50%, and if the situation worsens, we will face a big shutdown and disconnection from the global network. It is not clear what will happen first: we will be disconnected from the outside or it will be a disconnection from within. We are now in an unenviable situation and a lot depends on how the situation in Ukraine will unfold in the future,” he added.

As ForumDaily wrote earlier:

• On the night of February 24 began full-scale war of Russia against Ukraine.
• In the light of these events in Russia and around the world, protests against the invasion of Ukraine
• US and UK imposed broad economic sanctions against Russia due to the invasion of Ukraine.
• February 25 President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to sit down at the negotiating table. Putin's press secretary Dmitry Peskov said that Putin is ready to send a delegation to Minsk (Belarus) for negotiations with Kiev. He specified that the delegation will include representatives of the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the presidential administration.
• In the USA there were large-scale rallies in support of Ukraine.
• Pope Francis visits the Russian Embassy February 25, to personally "express his concerns about the war" in Ukraine, which made an unprecedented deviation from diplomatic protocol.
• European Union, USA and UK imposed sanctions and froze the assets of Putin and Lavrov.
• The United States declared its readiness to start accept refugees from Ukraine.
• February 26, the world famous and one of the most popular groups of hackers Anonymous recorded a video message to Russian President Vladimir Putin. They promised to find all "skeletons in the closet" and "leave no stone unturned".
• As it became known, the Oscar-winning Hollywood actor Sean Penn is located in Ukraine and is making a documentary for Vice about events in the country.
• February 28 The world's largest aircraft An-225 was destroyed during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, it caused alarm and sadness among the aviation world, in which it occupies an almost cult status.
• On the same day, the United States and France called on their citizens immediately consider leaving Russia.
• From the very beginning of the invasion, many actions took place around the world in support of Ukraine. How it was in the USA, see our material.
• On March 1, the United States asked 12 Russian diplomats from the United Nations leave the US accusing them of "espionage activities" as Russia continues its advance into Ukraine.
• March 2 Russian businessman Alex Konanykhin offered a $1 million reward for dead or alive Putin.
• Airbus and Boeing refused to work with Russia, this endangers almost the entire civil aviation of the country.
• March 3 CEO and founder of the Russian TV channel "Rain" announced the suspension of the channel. This is due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
• Which of the Hollywood stars supported Ukraine, and who was on the side of Russia, read here.
• What Russians living in Ukraine say about the war, you can find out in our material.
• Which companies left Russia and how it hit the economy, read on link.
• Where citizens of Ukraine can receive special services in Poland - by link.
• The US State Department has warned citizens of Ukraine that the US Mission in Ukraine does not currently offer visa services. That's it services provided in Germany.
• Meanwhile, the killers tried to kill the President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky at least three times since Russia invaded his country on February 24.
• In Russia, the situation with free media is becoming more and more difficult. Even relatives of Ukrainians from Russia do not believe in shelling of Ukraine.
• Russian diplomats announced persona non grata, left the US, and the Russian airlines stop international flights.
• Meanwhile at the International Court of Justice in The Hague began consideration of the claim of Ukraine to Russia. The subject of the lawsuit is allegations of genocide.

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