<
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/22/technology/russia-internet-censorship-putin.html>
"Russia’s boldest moves to censor the internet began in the most mundane of
ways — with a series of bureaucratic emails and forms.
The messages, sent by Russia’s powerful internet regulator, demanded technical
details — like traffic numbers, equipment specifications and connection speeds
— from companies that provide internet and telecommunications services across
the country. Then the black boxes arrived.
The telecom companies had no choice but to step aside as government-approved
technicians installed the equipment alongside their own computer systems and
servers. Sometimes caged behind lock and key, the new gear linked back to a
command center in Moscow, giving the authorities startling new powers to block,
filter and slow down websites that they did not want the Russian public to see.
The process, underway since 2019, represents the start of perhaps the world’s
most ambitious digital censorship effort outside China. Under President
Vladimir V. Putin, who once called the internet a “C.I.A. project” and views
the web as a threat to his power, the Russian government is attempting to bring
the country’s once open and freewheeling internet to heel."
Via Lauren Weinstein in The RISKS Digest Volume 32 Issue 91:
http://catless.ncl.ac.uk/Risks/32/91#subj6
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
