Reports are suggesting that Russia could invoke its sovereign internet legislation and disconnect the country from the rest of the internet.
The move would block access between Russian servers and the outside world, giving the state greater control over information while protecting it against cyberattacks.
The rumours are based on an internal document, signed by Deputy Minister for Digital Development Andrei Chernenko. The document, in Russian, was tweeted by independent Belarusian media group Nexta.
According to the document, Russia will start using domestic Domain Name Systems (DNS) and will repatriate resources to Russian servers on March 11th.
In short, the only information anyone in Russia will be able to access will be held on domestic servers.
#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 zone. In addition, detailed data on the network infrastructure of the sites is being collected. pic.twitter.com/wOCdRqOJej
— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) March 6, 2022
However, the scale of the move may be a lot smaller than reports are implying.
Russian media outlet Kommersant quoted an unnamed government spokesperson as saying, in Russian: “The telegram for government agencies outlines a set of simple cyber hygiene recommendations that will help to organise work more effectively to protect our resources from malicious traffic, keep services running and control over domain names.”
As such, the move may only apply to government resources, and then largely as a cybersecurity measure.
Sovereign Internet
Russia previously took steps to build its own internal internet, sometimes referred to as cheburnet. It was effectively created in November 2019 with the passage of the Sovereign Internet bill.
This gave the Russian state the power to create a sovereign internet that could disconnect pieces of Russia, or the whole country, from the rest of the internet in the event of a crisis. This required ISPs to route international internet traffic through Russia-based exchanges and create a domestic domain name system.
The legislation was originally created as a cybersecurity measure. In the event of a major cyberattack, Russian authorities could effectively disconnect vital infrastructure from the global internet and use its own one instead.
This would largely make an attack coming from outside the sovereign internet impossible, while ensuring Russian users could remain connected to one another.
Russia Isolated
Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, there has been a significant digital backlash against the country.
On one side, numerous Western governments have issued sanctions while businesses have withdrawn services from the country. This includes financial services providers, such as SWIFT cutting off access for several Russian banks to its banking network, along with entertainment groups such as Netflix and TikTok.
In turn, Russia has also cracked down on dissenting media voices in the country. Foreign publications, such as Voice of America, Radio Free Europe and Deutsche Welle, social media group Facebook, and Russia’s TV Rain, have all been blocked.
Recommended
This means that there is very little information being produced or disseminated along mainstream channels that doesn’t follow the approved party lines of the Russian Government.
Meanwhile, a significant cyberwar has been gearing up between Russia and Ukraine. On the one hand, Russia has launched cyberattacks on Ukrainian infrastructure. On the other, Ukraine’s own cyber-army, along with hacker group Anonymous, have hit Russian websites and other systems.
As such, with many outside organisations leaving and its digital infrastructure being threatened, Russia’s internet is already looking disconnected from the global internet.
Get the latest news from DIGIT direct to your inbox
Our newsletter covers the latest technology and IT news from Scotland and beyond, as well as in-depth features and exclusive interviews with leading figures and rising stars.
To subscribe, click here.
Related
