How To Find Out What's Going On

What's beingness tested?

From June 15 to July fifteen, 2021, Russian federation held a series of multi-day exercises to test the robust operation of Runet, reported the paper, RBC, citing the infosec working group of the autonomous non-turn a profit organisation, Digital Economic system.

All the major Russian telecom operators (MTS, Tele2, Beeline, Megafon, every bit well every bit Rostelecom, Transtelecom and ER-Telecom Belongings) took part in the tests, which, according to sources, checked whether Runet could operate in the issue of an assail by a hostile state. Some other source told the paper that "the possibility of physically disconnecting the Russian role of the Internet was tested."

These are not the showtime such drills. In Dec 2019 open tests were carried out in Moscow, Rostov, Vladimir and other Russian cities to permit telecom operators and government agencies to check the level of protection of cellular subscribers' personal information, likewise equally energy and financial companies' networks and It equipment against external threats, including hacking, likewise as to run into whether information technology is possible to intercept traffic and text messages, and determine subscribers' location.

"The tests showed that, in full general, both Russian authorities and telecom operators are ready to answer to emerging risks and threats, and ensure the stable operation of the Internet and telecommunications networks in Russia," Deputy Minister of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media, Alexei Sokolov, said at the time.

Testing was too due to take identify in 2020, simply was postponed because of the pandemic.

Why disconnect from the global Internet?

Participants of a coordinated rally organized by the Libertarian Party of Russia against the actions of the authorities in the field of regulating the Internet industry

Participants of a coordinated rally organized by the Libertarian Political party of Russia against the actions of the authorities in the field of regulating the Internet manufacture

Evgeny Biyatov/Sputnik

In Oct 2017, following three major hacker attacks that affected Russia and a number of other countries, President Vladimir Putin chosen for an increase in Runet security at a meeting of the Russian Security Council.

"External intrusion and leakage of electronic documents in the fields of defense, public administration, life-support infrastructure and finance tin can take the gravest consequences. <...> The security and stability of the infrastructure of the Russian segment of the Internet must exist improved," said the president.

A twelvemonth later, in December 2018, a grouping of Federation Quango senators and State Duma deputies introduced a beak on the autonomous performance of Runet, which later became known variously as the "Runet protection", "sovereign Runet" and "Runet isolation" law. An explanatory annotation stated that the nib took account of the hacking accusations against Russia and the U.S. National Cyber Strategy, adopted in September 2018, which, according to senators, restated the "peace through strength" principle.

The essence of the law is to create a domestic infrastructure that volition allow Runet to continue working fifty-fifty if Russia is asunder from global servers.

The law also stipulates that Russian communications watchdog Roskomnadzor and operators will control data exchanged by Russian users, and, if necessary, not transfer information technology abroad and disable traffic if an attempt is made to access websites with prohibited data.

A carve up clause provides for annual drills to be carried out past expert government agencies and telecom operators.

Before its signing, the bill was subjected to repeated criticism, primarily past operators and big Information technology companies. In their view, the requirements could lead to disruptions in communications services and the Net. The pecker was too criticized by the international system Reporters Without Borders, which stated that the law would allow Russia to cut off the menstruum of digital data every bit and when it pleased.

Even government experts criticized the bill – in their opinion, the dangers information technology describes pose no real threat. Nevertheless, in May 2019 Vladimir Putin signed the adopted police, which came into force on Nov. 1 of that same year.

"Most servers are located away <...> assuming theoretically that these servers are turned off, or their operation impeded somehow, we must ensure the reliable operation of the Runet. This, in betoken of fact, is what the police aims to practice. Just this. No restrictions are planned," Putin responded in June 2019 to criticism of the law.

How volition the "sovereign Runet" work?

All operators are installing special equipment to ensure uninterrupted data exchange in Russia in case information technology is ever necessary to unhook the country from the global Net.

Roskomnadzor intends to fix up a control center to monitor this equipment and the possibility of external threats.

If e'er cyber actors tried to disconnect Russian federation from global servers, disrupt cellular communications or Net access for members of the public, or target the IT infrastructure of critical facilities, Roskomnadzor would assume control of internal traffic.

As outlined on the State Duma website, traffic would be managed with the aid of special "substitution points" – physical premises with switches where the networks of large companies, ISPs, hosting providers, etc., would exist connected and internal traffic exchanged.

In addition, the regulator volition be able to independently block websites prohibited in Russia without contacting the relevant operators and providers (this task is currently performed at the request of Roskomnadzor). At the aforementioned time, the State Duma website underlines that the law is not designed to block social networks and video-hosting platforms, such every bit Twitter, YouTube and Facebook. But how information technology might be able to go along popular foreign sites up and running when Russia is disconnected from the global Internet is left unanswered.

Roskomnadzor is showing backbone when it comes to interfering with foreign services. In March 2021, it slowed down Twitter for declining to remove prohibited content. According to RBC, the regulator did and so with the assistance of that aforementioned equipment installed to comply with the "sovereign Runet" law. In May 2021, it partially lifted the restrictions on the popular social network.

Russian federation is already technologically capable of disconnecting from the global network, said Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of the Security Council of the Russian federation, in February 2021. Still, co-ordinate to cellular operators, the already malfunctioning equipment had to be temporarily disabled in March 2021 in guild to restore information technology to operation. Furthermore, the Russian Ministry of Communications periodically puts forward new requirements for equipment modernization, which tin can too lead to a deterioration in communications quality, said MTS.

At the same time, non-compliance with the requirements is not an selection: operators face up a fine of up to 1 1000000 rubles ($13,600) for the first violation, and up to 3 1000000 ($xl,000) for the second.

So will Russian federation be as isolated as Cathay?

Passengers of the Moscow metro using free Wi-Fi

Passengers of the Moscow metro using gratis Wi-Fi

Kirill Zykov/Moscow agency

No, just that'southward no reason to celebrate.

The primary deviation between the "sovereign Runet" and the "Neat Firewall" of China lies in their architecture, Mikhail Klimarev, executive director of the not-profit organization Internet Protection Society, explained in a column for Znak.com.

In Russia, filtering and traffic management systems are installed on the side of telecom operators; merely in Red china, that control technology is situated on its 'edge' with the rest of the world. Facebook and other popular social networks do non work in Cathay, but even if filtering systems break down, the Internet will withal work there. Russia, meanwhile, would face unexpected reanimation across the country.

"Disconnecting Google would hit 30% of all Russian websites... The economy would be struck where nosotros to the lowest degree expect it. Anything could fail: a medical system or gas pipeline control system, information technology'south impossible to predict," argued Klimarev.

The aforementioned opinion was confirmed by Dmitry Medvedev in February 2021. In his words, if Runet became autonomous, it would create large problems.

"Information technology would take a while. But, in principle, Runet's operational autonomy could exist restored or created," said Medvedev, stressing that it would "not be easy or desirable."

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