Roskomnadzor conducted a large-scale blocking of VPN services ahead…
Roskomnadzor conducted a large-scale blocking of VPN services ahead of the elections. According to Telegram channel 'Exploit' and Mikhail Klimarev, director of the 'Internet Defense Society'.
Consensus
- Roskomnadzor conducted a large-scale blocking of VPN services in Russia on August 4.
- Over 20 popular hosting providers were affected by the block.
- Multiple VPN services including Paper VPN, Amnezia, VPN Legend, GaMMa VPN, LTVP, ABS, FoxyBot, and VPN Generator reported technical issues.
- The blocking was linked by multiple sources to the upcoming September parliamentary elections.
- The action involved blocking IP addresses and entire subnets of hosting providers.
- Russian IT companies were involved in helping identify autonomous systems (AS) used by VPN services.
- The blocking targeted prefixes associated with these autonomous systems.
Points of divergence
- Ministry of Digital Development (Mintsifry) plans to tighten control over corporate VPN IP addresses, which are currently in a special list and exempt from blocking. — novaya_eu
- The government previously attempted to create a state-run VPN (GosVPN) for companies, which was criticized by IT industry professionals. — tg_istories_media
- The blocking was facilitated by demands from authorities to banks, marketplaces, and other companies to monitor and collect data on user VPN usage. — tg_varlamov_news
- The government's crackdown on VPNs intensified in mid-spring, but there was a sharp reduction in anti-censorship initiatives in May, possibly due to the approaching elections. — tg_agentstvonews
Coverage (5 sources)
- RKN conducted a new large-scale wave of VPN service blocks — Новая газета Европа
- Roskomnadzor conducted a large-scale blocking of VPN services in Russia, as a result of which IP addresses... fell under restriction — Радио Свобода
- Authorities organized the largest VPN service block. More than 20 popular hosting providers encountered restrictions — Важные истории
- Roskomnadzor conducted a large-scale VPN block, according to reports from various services and profile Telegram channels. — Varlamov News
- Roskomnadzor conducted a large-scale blocking of VPN services before elections — Агентство. Новости
Key entities
- Roskomnadzor
- Exploit
- Russia
- VPN services
- Mikhail Klimarev
- Internet Society
- Amnezia
- Agency
- Roskomnadzor
- IT Company
- VPN application