Tag: RuNet

Russia – Vladimir Putin signs the « Sovereign Internet » bill into law

Russia – Vladimir Putin signs the « Sovereign Internet » bill into law
Image source: essuera via Pixabay

In a previous article of Lucie Loos dated of the 21st of last February, the study by the Duma, the lower Chamber of the Russian Parliament, of a draft legislation with the aim to create a “sovereign Internet” in Russia was mentioned. With this law, the country would be able to function in total independence if Russia was cut from the major global servers, by creating Russia’s internal DNS system, which would ensure the link between web address and IP address of the corresponding web servers, without relying on the root servers of the global Internet.

On Wednesday, the 1st of May 2019, Vladimir Putin signed a bill to create Russia’s “Sovereign Internet” into law, its entry into force is planned for November 2019.

Sovereign Internet: IT security or control of Internet?

The bill thus plans to create an “infrastructure allowing to ensure the functioning of the Russian Internet resources in case of the impossibility for the Russian operators to connect to the foreign sources Internet servers”.

The Russian Internet service providers will have to implement technical means allowing a “centralized control of the traffic” on their networks in order to face potential cyberattacks from foreign powerful countries. A control that will be done by Roskomnadzor, the agency in charge of the monitoring of the Russian Telecom and Medias, which has been often accused of arbitrarily blocking web content, and by the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB).

Officially, the “sovereign Internet” was created for the purpose of IT security, but according to many experts, this might be an excuse. This bill is criticized and deemed by many militants as an attempt to control web contents and progressively isolate the Russian Internet in an environment of increasing pressure from the authorities regarding the freedom of expression on Internet.

Many rallies against this bill were organized in Moscow and gathered thousands of Russians last March. Several weeks later, in a joint statement, many international human rights and freedom of expression organizations, of which Reporters without borders and Human Rights Watch, had called on Vladimir Putin not to sign the bill that is “against Moscow’s international commitments in terms of respect for Human rights and particularly poses a threat to media freedom and the rights to freedom of information for people in Russia”. Despite this, the Russian president chose to ignore it and thus the bill was signed on the 1st of May 2019, and will enter into force starting this coming November.

Can Russia disconnect from the global Internet?

Can Russia disconnect from the global Internet?
Image source : bernswaelz via Pixabay

On February 13, 2019, the Duma (lower Chamber of the Russian Parliament) has begun to study a draft legislation with the aim to create a “sovereign Internet” in Russia, meaning an ability to function in total independence if Russia was cut from the major global servers. To achieve this, it will be necessary to create an “infrastructure allowing to ensure the functioning of the Russian Internet resources in case of the impossibility for the Russian operators to connect to the foreign sources Internet servers”.

The Internet providers will have to implement systems allowing a “centralized control of the traffic” on their networks.

The measures proposed would allow the Russian Internet (RuNet) to ensure that the Russian part of the Internet functions efficiently. In other words, the test will allow Russia to ensure that its domestic networks can operate in full autonomy.

A response to the penalty threats? 

If Russia talks about an assurance for a maintained local availability, particularly in case of a large-scale cyberattack, this draft legislation is also and clearly presented as a response to the “aggressive nature of the new American cybersecurity strategy adopted in September 2018” [mentioning Russia as a threat]. Indeed, Russia is the object of many accusations regarding cyberattacks and cyber espionage (disruptions of the American presidential elections in 2016 -exhortation of Stuart Peach, Chief of the UK Defence staff in NATO, to take measures against Russia in December 2017, after the Russian submarines were detected near the Atlantic submarine cables, which carry the communications between Europe and the USA – in January 2018, the Minister of UK Defence, Gavin Williamson, also accuses Russia of spying the critical infrastructure of his country with the aim to create a “total chaos” which could “result in thousands and thousands of deaths”, etc). NATO and its allies have then threatened to punish Russia for these cyberattacks.

It’s in this context that Russia is planning a full-scale test of disconnection of the global Internet network.

A full-scale test

For several years, this test has been prepared by Russian authorities, who planned a DNS local backup (tested in 2014 and in 2018).

Indeed, the law plans the creation of Russia’s internal DNS system, which would ensure the link between web address and IP address of the corresponding web servers, without resting on the root servers of the global Internet.

Validated by president Poutine, the draft legislation has all its chances to be quickly adopted despite the reluctance of some branches of the government because of the potential expenses entailed. On the Russian Internet providers’ side, they seem to agree with the draft legislation, as mentioned in the Russian press, but to this date, they do not validate its technical implementation, which could create important disturbances and other traffic disruptions in Russia.

Of course, it is easy to see that this experience will simultaneously test the Internet providers‘ ability to direct data towards routing points controlled by the Russian government, since a filter would be implemented to stop the flow of data towards foreign servers.

Would Russia move towards a system of traffic filtering, beyond ensuring a national intranet that maintains an operational connection inside the borders even in case of a massive cyberattack? It is reminiscent of the significant Chinese firewall (Internet monitoring and censorship project managed by the Ministry of Public Security of the People’s Republic of China, initiated in 1998 and of which activities began in November 2003).

The Russian test could happen on the 1st of April 2019. To be continued.