RUSSIA'S SOVEREIGN INTERNET

MOSCOW : Russia, just recently, carried out tests to ensure the ''security'' of its Internet infrastructure in case of a foreign cyberattack as part of measures that rightists activists worry could also tighten censorship and lead to online isolation.

A controversial law that allows the country to cut Internet traffic from international servers came into force last November, but the communications ministry has denied that the government is gearing up to isolate the Russian segment of the Internet and said ordinary users would not notice the tests.

The ministry said that the drills are aimed at ensuring the ''integrity'' of the Internet.

''The purpose of the task is to ensure the reliable operation of the Internet in Russia in any conditions and under any circumstances,'' deputy communications minister Alexei Sokolov said in a televised remarks on Monday, speaking from the Monitoring and Cyber Threat Response Centre.

''Our task to make sure that everything works. That's what today's drills are aimed at.'' State controlled channel Rossiya 24 said the authorities had in fact been conducting the test for the past two weeks.

The law, which President Vladimir Putin signed in May, requires Russian internet providers to install equipment provided by the authorities to enable centralised control of data traffic.

They will also filter content to prevent access to banned websites.

Supporters of the legislation say that the aim is to ensure Russian sites keep working if they are unable to connect to international servers or in the case of threats from abroad such as cyberattacks.

But rights activists say it is another censorship bid following previous efforts in Russia to block services such as Linkedin professional networking site and the Telegram messenger service.

MOSCOW : Russia, just recently, carried out tests to ensure the ''security'' of its Internet infrastructure in case of a foreign cyberattack as part of measures that rightists activists worry could also tighten censorship and lead to online isolation.

A controversial law that allows the country to cut Internet traffic from international servers came into force last November, but the communications ministry has denied that the government is gearing up to isolate the Russian segment of the Internet and said ordinary users would not notice the tests.

The ministry said that the drills are aimed at ensuring the ''integrity'' of the Internet.

''The purpose of the task is to ensure the reliable operation of the Internet in Russia in any conditions and under any circumstances,'' deputy communications minister Alexei Sokolov said in a televised remarks on Monday, speaking from the Monitoring and Cyber Threat Response Centre.

''Our task to make sure that everything works. That's what today's drills are aimed at.'' State controlled channel Rossiya 24 said the authorities had in fact been conducting the test for the past two weeks.

The law, which President Vladimir Putin signed in May, requires Russian internet providers to install equipment provided by the authorities to enable centralised control of data traffic.

They will also filter content to prevent access to banned websites.

Supporters of the legislation say that the aim is to ensure Russian sites keep working if they are unable to connect to international servers or in the case of threats from abroad such as cyberattacks.

But rights activists say it is another censorship bid following previous efforts in Russia to block services such as Linkedin professional networking site and the Telegram messenger service.