From November 1, 2019, Federal Law No. 90-FZ of 2019-01-05, which received the popular name "the law on disconnecting from the world Internet" ("the law on the isolation of the Runet"), will come into force, which caused a violent reaction from Russian users of the world wide web … What claims are presented to the authors of this law and what real changes do Russians expect?
Amid heated discussions, a large number of various rumors and rumors have appeared, warning of an alleged impending threat to security and privacy on the network. As a result, on March 10, 2019, rallies for a free Internet were held in Moscow and some other cities, where opponents of this law gathered. In their opinion, all these changes are a gross violation of the rights of citizens and will lead to the following consequences:
- total control over network users will be carried out;
- it will become impossible to transfer information and view sites located outside the Russian Federation;
- the quality of the connection will decrease.
But is it really so? Before understanding this and other issues related to the new law, it is necessary to understand the basic principle of the world wide web.
How the Internet works
What is a website in terms of computer technology? This is a regular folder on the server, which contains a large variety of files. The server is essentially a powerful computer (hardware), which, unlike a home computer, is always on, which will provide users with round-the-clock access to sites.
When a user wants to open any page of the site, the browser generates a special request, but sends it not to the server with the site, but to a special DNS server. Its task is to convert the name or page address that is understandable to us (CNC - human-readable URL) into an electronic code and send it to the browser. The browser sends the received code (also in the form of a request) to the server with the site and receives a response in the form of the page code and additional files (images, etc.). After processing, the page appears on the monitor display in its usual form.
The main reasons for the adoption of Law No. 90-FZ
This law is briefly called "On the sovereign (secure, autonomous) Runet", and it was prepared (quote) "taking into account the aggressive nature of the US National Cybersecurity Strategy adopted in September 2018." What threat are we talking about?
The document, signed by US President Donald Trump, suggests (quote) "a response to the actions in this area of Russia, China, Iran and North Korea." "Activities in this area" refers to mythical hacker attacks allegedly harming the United States. In response, "US offensive cyber operations are being sanctioned."
Commenting on this document, US National Security Assistant John Bolton said the following (quote): "We will not use only defense measures, we intend to participate in offensive operations, and our rivals must bear this in mind."
What measures can the United States take against Runet
For many years the Russian Federation has its own servers hosting a huge number of Russian sites, but all DNS servers are located outside our country, mainly in the United States. This means that at any time they can be disabled, which will entail a complete blocking of the Runet. The consequences of such a blockage are hard to imagine!
Response measures of the Russian Federation aimed at protecting Runet from "American cyber operations of an offensive nature"
That is why at the end of 2018 a project was developed, which later received the official name "On Amendments to the Federal Law" On Communications "and the Federal Law" On Information, Information Technologies and the Protection of Information ". First of all, this document is aimed at creating Russian DNS servers, which will ensure the security and independence of the Russian Internet from the actions of the United States.
Also, “the draft law defines the necessary traffic routing rules, organizes control over their observance, creates an opportunity to minimize the transfer of data abroad that Russian users exchange with each other,” says the website of the State Duma of the Russian Federation (News, Art. adopted in the first reading dated 12.02.2019). Roskomnadzor is responsible for monitoring compliance with all the rules.
Until 2021, technical means of countering threats will be installed in the networks, the traffic exchange system will change. A national system for obtaining information on domain names and network addresses will be created. This set of measures will protect Russian users from possible hostile actions by the United States, if necessary, isolate the Runet from external attacks and ensure its uninterrupted operation.
But won't the rights and freedoms of citizens be violated in this case?
Key arguments against the sovereign Internet law
Like any law, this document has its opponents. But how realistic are their gloomy predictions?
Forecast: limited opportunities
The new traffic routing rules and control over their implementation are perceived by some users as a kind of limitation of their capabilities, but nothing of the kind is actually expected. All these actions are aimed only at providing protection. “I want to assure you that the government and parliament have no intentions to restrict your opportunities on the Internet and will not,” said Speaker of the Federation Council Valentina Matvienko during her speech at the “Territory of Meanings” forum.
Forecast: shutdown of popular foreign sites (Google, YouTube and others), introduction of censorship
The creation of Russian DNS servers, new traffic routing rules and control over their implementation will in no way affect access to foreign and Russian sites, with the exception of those that contain content prohibited by the laws of the Russian Federation and / or are subject to blocking by decision of Roskomnadzor.
Forecast: poor connection quality
A number of users expressed the opinion that the introduction of such large-scale changes will affect the quality and speed of the connection. However, a fairly large number of providers have been working in the Russian Federation for many years, successfully coping with the tasks set to transmit a high-quality signal at high speeds, to ensure the uninterrupted operation of Russian sites, therefore, the new tasks set by the adopted law are quite solvable, especially since the implementation of innovations will stretch until 2021.
So, will the Runet be disconnected from the world wide web?
No, it will not!
Despite such non-optimistic forecasts, this law will not affect ordinary users in any way. As before, it will be possible to browse foreign and Russian sites, but the likelihood of encountering fraudsters on the Internet will be much lower. By 2021, a stable Internet will be created, reliably protected from external influences, ready at any time to switch to full autonomy, which will ensure us complete independence from US actions.
