Thursday 10 August 2017

SumTips: 7 Facts You Need to Know About Russia's VPN Ban

Russian flag and map
President Vladimir Putin recently signed a law that further restricts online privacy in Russia. Read on for highlights of the legislation.

1. The legislation does NOT ban all virtual private networks (VPNs); it requires VPNs to block users from all government-censored content or face shutdown.

2. The legislation includes a blacklist of online resources with restricted access.

3. The legislation requires messaging services to log and store users’ phone numbers.

4. The legislation has the disapproval of whistleblower Edward Snowden: “Banning the ‘unauthorized’ use of basic internet security tools makes Russia both less safe and less free. This is a tragedy of policy. If the next generation is to enjoy the online liberties ours did, innocuous traffic must become truly indistinguishable from the sensitive.”

5. The legislation was signed into law on July 30 and will be enacted later this year on November 1. It follows a 2015 measure that requires telecommunications companies and internet service providers to retain user data for up to a year….and increases government censorship prior to the March 2018 elections.

6. It’s bad, but it could be worse: The Red Web author Andrei Soldatov acknowledged, “I think the regulation is a bit outdated and very difficult to implement, but this law is still very dangerous, because it means all the internet service providers will be in violation, and this will be a good tool with which to put pressure on them.”

7. SumRando Cybersecurity's VPN will continue to strive to meet your online needs in Russia and worldwide.

Surf secure and stay Rando!


Image credit of BOLDG/Shutterstock.com.
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SumRando Cybersecurity is a Mauritius-based VPNWeb Proxy and Secure Messenger provider. Surf secure and stay Rando!

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