Russia disconnected itself from the global Internet in tests
Russia managed to disconnect from the global Internet during tests in June and July, the RBC daily reported on Thursday, citing documents from the working group tasked with improving Russia’s Internet security.
Russia adopted legislation, known as the “sovereign Internet” law, in late 2019 that seeks to shield the country from being cut off from foreign infrastructure, in answer to what Russia called the “aggressive nature” of the US’s national cybersecurity strategy.
The legislation tightened Moscow’s control over the global network and caused consternation among free-speech activists, who feared the move would strengthen government oversight of the country’s cyberspace.
Tests involving all Russia’s major telecommunications firms were held from 15 June to 15 July and were successful, according to preliminary results, RBC cited a source in the working group as saying.
“The purpose of the tests is to determine the ability of the ‘Runet’ to work in case of external distortions, blocks and other threats,” the source said. Another RBC source said the capability of physically disconnecting the Russian part of the Internet was tested.
