[Breaking] Russia to Reportedly Cut Reliance on External Internet with Companies Required ".RU" Domain: Ready Since 2019?

Russia prepares for the possibility of completely disconnecting from the global internet – Observer

Russia is preparing for the possibility of completely disconnecting from the global internet, with its citizens only browsing a network fully controlled by Moscow.

On Saturday, the Russian government gave orders for all state websites and services to switch to the Russian Domain Name System by March 11th. “This is necessary to protect resources from cyberattacks and for the possibility of a disconnection from the outside”, reports the Russian newspaper Kommersant quoted by The Guardian.

Still, the Russian Ministry of Digital Development told Kommersant that there are no plans for a complete cut with the global internet for now.

“We are preparing for various scenarios to ensure that Russian resources are available to citizens,” the ministry said. “The telegram sent to government agencies details a set of simple cyber hygiene recommendations that will help organize work more effectively to protect our resources from malicious traffic, to keep services running, and to control names. domain.”

In practice, this is a step towards Russian independence from the internet — a goal that Moscow has never hidden and that could now intensify in a context in which Russia finds itself increasingly isolated from the Western world and seeks to control meticulously the information that circulates within its territory.