According to the Russian newspaper Kommersant, cybersecurity drills have been conducted that conjure up the scenario of a defense initiative decided by Moscow or that of an externally imposed measure.
correspondent in Moscow
In connection with the war in Ukraine and the resulting tightening of sanctions, but also with the increase in cyber attacks, Moscow is preparing for its possible disconnection from the global Internet, be it a defensive initiative decided by the Russian authorities or an external measure imposed by them.
Closing off the Russian Internet from the rest of the world was considered by the Kremlin last March after the start of the “special military operation” in Ukraine, according to the newspaper “Kommersant”. It also shows that several cybersecurity exercises were conducted this year with the participation of banks, telecom operators and the largest Internet companies to test the Russian network’s ability to operate autonomously.
Rerouting of traffic to Asia
Exercises justified by the geopolitical situation, analyzes Kommersant. Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernychenko, quoted by the newspaper, claims that the number of cyber attacks has increased by 80% this year. “If last year the main target was the financial sector, this year it is the public sector that is being targeted,” emphasizes Dmitri Chernychenko.
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Faced with these threats, Russian operator Rostelecom considered an internet shutdown plan in the spring, reports Kommersant, which, citing an expert, notes that “if Russia is cut off from European exchange points, Russia will redirect internet traffic to Asia”. . The project of a “sovereign” Internet, repeatedly mentioned by Vladimir Putin, has been overshadowed in recent months by access restrictions to certain sites (particularly Twitter and Instagram). Digital isolation of Russia, to the extent possible, would also risk accentuating state control over personal data and individual freedoms, some experts and human rights defenders fear.
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Bypassed Restrictions
Outside of Russia, several Internet traffic access providers (such as LINX) have already separated their services from Rostelecom or MegaFon. Conversely, “American cloud provider Clouflare refused to work in the Russian Federation, and the State Department urged not to disconnect Russia from the Internet,” writes Kommersant. For the major state actors, especially the intelligence services, the possibility of obtaining information remains preferable to the lack of data…
Already last March, the Russian authorities took measures to protect state sites: all websites, especially those of public services, were instructed to switch to Russian domain names, to stop hosting abroad and to tighten their password policies. But six months later, those restrictions have been largely circumvented, particularly by regional state websites that continue to use codes downloaded from abroad, Kommersant notes. As an explanation, the newspaper continues, in particular the fact that the fines provided remain minimal, around 5000 rubles (83 euros approximately at the current rate).
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In addition, the decoupling of the Russian segment of the Internet from the World Wide Web would have consequences for the connectivity of the entire global network, explain experts such as Ivan Begtin, who, for example, emphasizes that “traffic from Kazakhstan and parts of Asian countries pass through the Russian Federation”. Even if closed models of the Internet exist, in Iran or in China, the expert considers a “shutdown” (closure) of Russia to be unlikely and tends more to “internal hardening and access restrictions”.
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