Putin approved a drastic plan for Russia to cut itself off from the internet as a last-ditch defense from an all-out cyberwar
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Russia has taken a major step in it's ambition to cut itself off from the global internet and create closed network only accessible inside the country.
President Vladimir Putin signed a bill on Wednesday which gives government agencies the go-ahead to develop a "sustainable, secure, and fully functioning" Russian "sovereign internet." The move is part of the Kremlin's plan to isolate its internet usage as a means of defending against external cyberwarfare.
Read more: Russia has banned fake news, while also being one of the world's prime exporters of fake news
The bill says the government will "exercise centralized control over the communication network of general use." On April 8, Putin assured Russians that the internet will always remain free in Russia.But he caveated: "At the same time, it is also important to counter the risks and challenges of cyber crime and the spread of illegal content, which poses a threat to people's rights and the state's interests."
If successful, the Kremlin says the isolated internet will make Russia more secure in the face of cyber attacks.
Critics warn the law may see Russia emulate China, where the internet is vigorously censored and used to monitor society through a social-credit system.TheRussia's move toward a closed internet network comes as major global powers move to defend themselves from external cyber attacks. The US imposed multiple rounds of sanctions on Russian firms and individuals in 2017, saying it was responding to Russian attempts to jeopardize the US power grid and financial system.
The EU last year also said it would "strengthen the resilience" of its member states "in the digital domain" after the Netherlands said it caught four Russian intelligence agents trying to hack into the global chemical weapons watchdog headquarters while it was investigating Russia's alleged involvement in the poisoning of Sergei Skripal last April.
Russia's Ministry of Communications first hinted at the move to an isolated internet in 2017, when it said it wanted to route 95% of the country's web traffic internally by 2020, the country's Izvestia newspaper reported at the time.Read more: Russia's top Orthodox bishop says the internet is a tool of the Antichrist
In February Russia announced it would be simulating an all-out cyber attack by switching off the whole country's internet for one day, Russian news agency RosBiznesKonsalting reported.It was planned for April 1, but it is not known whether the simulation happened.
Over 50% of Russians said they were against the new internet proposals, the state-funded VTsIOM pollster found. The legislation will roll out on November 1, 2019.Copyright © 2021. Times Internet Limited. All rights reserved.For reprint rights. Times Syndication Service.
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