Russia has given the green light for the creation of its own internet called ‘Runet’ and it has been working properly that the country’s users have not noticed the difference to the old network.
Notably in recent months, Russian President Vladimir has increased his efforts to create own technology, including a “sovereign internet” law blocking content in an “emergency situation” in addition to prohibiting the sale of devices that do not have pre-installed Russian applications.
“The results of the exercises showed that, in general, both authorities and telecommunicationoperators are ready to respond effectively to emerging risks and threats, to ensure the stable functioning of the Internet and the unified telecommunications network in the Russian Federation,” said Alexey Sokolov, deputy director of the Ministry of Communications.
According to Alan Woodward, a computer scientist at the University of Surrey, Runet would have ISPs and telecommunications companies set up the Internet within their borders as a gigantic intranet, just as a large corporation does. It is very similar to internet restraint projects already implemented by governments of China, Iran and Saudi Arabia, which allow them to filter content through their own censors. This type of infrastructure will even make it difficult for VPNs to access blocked content.
“Countries receive foreign web services through submarine cables or “nodes”, connection points where data is transmitted to and from other countries’ communication networks. These would have to be blocked or at least regulated. This would require the cooperation of national ISPs and would be much easier to achieve if there were only a handful of state-owned enterprises involved. The more networks and connections a country has, the harder it is to control access.”
While its role seems clear, Russia has not said what its intentions are clearly with the creation of this new internet.
