1 November 2019

Russia will disconnect itself from internet this week in world-first test to ‘defend against US cyberattack’

Harry Pettit

RUSSIA is poised to disconnect itself from the internet as part of its escalating cyber war with the United States.

The dramatic shutdown planned for this week is part of a scheme by Moscow officials to sever the entire nation from the global internet.
3Russia is preparing for a potential international cyber attackCredit: Getty - Contributor

Instead, Russia's web will operate on an internal network isolated from the rest of the world.

Dubbed RuNet, the setup is intended to shield Russian communications from cyber attacks from government hackers from the US and UK.

It's also part of preparations for a potential cyber war with the US that could see Donald Trump shut down Russia's web access.


Moscow has openly discussed the project for months, and tests will finally begin before November 1, according to several state-run media outlets.
3Moscow will disconnect Russia's internet access sometime before November 1Credit: PA:Press Association

"On Monday, the government approved the provision on conducting exercises to ensure the stable, safe and holistic functioning of the Internet and public communications networks in the Russian Federation," D-Russia reported.

"The exercises are [to be] held at the federal and regional levels."

Like many nations, much of Russia's internet access is still routed through so-called "exchange points" in the United States.

Russia considers its reliance on US tech a weak-point that US officials could easily exploit.

Under new rules, Russia's telecoms firms would have to install "technical means" to re-route that traffic through national exchange points.

This week's tests mark Russia's initial foray into setting up such a network. There's a long way to go until the nation can fully rely on it.

According to D-Russia, Moscow plans to perform at least one of the tests a year for the foreseeable future.

It's not entirely clear what the tests will entail.

It appears large sections of Russia's internet will be shut off to test local emergency exchange points.
3The move by Vladimir Putin is part of preparations for a potential cyber war with the US that could see Donald Trump shut down Russia's web accessCredit: AP:Associated Press

Roskomnazor, Russia's telecom watchdog, will reportedly monitor all traffic flowing through these points to make sure data is not being routed outside of Russia.

It will block any traffic needlessly beamed beyond its borders, as this data can be easily intercepted by foreign spies.

"The larger context is Russia’s dependence as a nation on imported/foreign hi-tech and the perceived vulnerabilities that Russia sees in such technology use," Russian expert at the American Foreign Policy Council Samuel Bendett told Defense One.

"With so many government, public, and private-sector nodes using such foreign tech, the Russian government is seeking to impose a measure of control over how Internet communication over this technology is conducted.

"In the event of what the government sees as outside influence affecting RuNet, the state can act — hence the annual exercise."

How Russian hackers could wreak havoc in the UK

Here are the attacks at their disposal...

Shut down power grids – This deadly attack was used to devastating effect against Ukraine in 2016 and 2017

Poison water supply – Cyber criminals were able to change the levels of chemicals used to treat tap water by hacking outdated IT software that was running a US water plant
Send nuclear power plants into meltdown – US nuclear plants have been targetted a number of times by suspected Russian hackers

Leak sensitive information – Governments are vulnerable to enemies who leak documents or spread disinformation

Some have argued that move is also part of a ploy by Putin to cut the flow of free information to Russians.

"The Russian government, particularly since seeing the role social media played in the Arab Spring, has wanted [...] to exert tight control over the online information space within Russia’s borders," said New America net expert Justin Sherman.

"Free information flows are a threat to regime stability, and they need to be controlled, the narrative goes."

The Russian government has been working on the complex cyber defence tactic for several years.

In 2017, officials in Moscow promised to route 95% of all internet traffic locally by 2020.

Nato nations recently said they planned to hit Russia with a stronger response to its own cyber attacks.

Moscow has been accused of carrying out dozens of sinister hacks over the past five years, including on US electronic voting systems in 2016.

Play VideoHorror simulation reveals nuclear war between US and Russia 'killing 90million people immediately'

In other news, it emerged this year that cyber criminals from Russia and China are targeting the phones of MPs with a messaging app scam.

Russian and North Korean hackers attack key British websites – including the Ministry of Defence, Bank of England and nuclear bases – every day, according to some experts.

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