Russia 'Successfully Tests' Its Unplugged Internet

The Russian government says it has successfully tested a country-wide alternative to the global internet. Details of what the test involved were vague but, according to the Ministry of Communications, ordinary users did not notice any changes. The results will now be presented to President Putin. The BBC reports: The initiative involves restricting the points at which Russia's version of the net connects to its global counterpart, giving the government more control over what its citizens can access. "Sadly, the Russian direction of travel is just another step in the increasing breaking-up of the internet," said Prof Alan Woodward, a computer scientist at the University of Surrey. "That would effectively get ISPs [internet service providers] and telcos to configure the internet within their borders as a gigantic intranet, just like a large corporation does," explained Prof Woodward.

"The Russian government has run into technical challenges in the past when trying to increase online control, such as its largely unsuccessful efforts to block Russians from accessing encrypted messaging app Telegram," Justin Sherman, a cyber-security policy fellow at the New America think tank, told the BBC. "Without more information about this test though, it's hard to assess exactly how far Russia has progressed in the path towards an isolatable domestic internet. "And on the business front, it remains to be seen just how much domestic and foreign pushback Russia will get."

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