Russia Targets Fake White List Sites
Russia's Ministry of Digital Development has requested that hosting, web protection, and CDN providers isolate IP addresses of websites in the 'white list' into separate subnets to prevent unauthorized access by sites with prohibited content, including VPN services and illegal online businesses.
Consensus
- Ministry of Digital Development of Russia sent a letter to hosting providers, web protection services, and CDN providers requesting the isolation of IP addresses from the 'white list' into separate subnets.
- The goal is to prevent unauthorized websites with prohibited content—such as VPN services, drug shops, porn sites, and online casinos—from accessing the 'white list' infrastructure.
- The 'white list' includes websites that must remain accessible during mobile internet outages, such as government services, payment platforms, marketplaces, and transport apps.
- The mechanism has been approved by the FSB.
- Currently, websites can pass verification as legitimate services (e.g., online stores) and later change their content to include prohibited material.
- The 'white list' was introduced in autumn 2025 and is maintained and updated by the Ministry of Digital Development.
- Multiple clients may share the same IP address, increasing the risk of unauthorized sites being included in the white list.
Points of divergence
- The new measure is expected to take time and may cause client dissatisfaction because many services rely on these IP addresses. — tg_varlamov_news
- The proposed solution is expected to optimize the websites in the white list. — vesti
- Sergey Boyarsky, head of the State Duma committee on information policy, stated that constant use of VPNs is unsafe and that people, especially youth, should be discouraged from using them. — vesti
- The mechanism is supported by both the Ministry of Digital Development and the FSB. — kommersant
Coverage (9 sources)
- Ministry of Digital Economy will check sites from the 'white list' for prohibited content — Радио Свобода
- Ministry of Digital Economy suggested ISPs isolate IPs of sites from the 'white list' into separate subnets to combat VPN — ЭХО / Новости
- Ministry of Digital Economy asked hosting providers, CDN providers and web protection services to isolate IP addresses of resources from the whitelist... — Varlamov News
- RBC: Ministry of Digital Development attempts to combat VPN and banned website masking in 'whitelists' — Meduza
- Ministry of Digital suggested allocating IP addresses of the white list for fighting VPN — Вести
- Ministry of Digital Economy called to allocate IP addresses of the white list for fighting drug shops and VPN — Коммерсантъ
- Ministry of Digital started fighting with VPN and banned websites masking in 'whitelists' — Дождь (Telegram)
- Ministry of Digital Economy asked providers to separate sites from the 'white list' into separate IP subnets — Дождь
- Ministry of Digital Economy asked to allocate IP addresses of the whitelist for fighting VPN — Ведомости