In Russia, exercises were held to “ensure the stable functioning of the Internet in case of outages from the outside,” two sources in the telecommunications market told RBC.
During the exercises on the night of July 4-5, according to one of interlocutors of the publication, «turned off the international Internet.» The representative of Roskomnadzor, in a conversation with RBC, called the exercises successful, but did not explain what exactly their purpose was.
“During the exercises, they could check whether the Runet really continues to work with such a shutdown [from the outside]. Approximately the same way they test bulletproof vests when they put them on mannequins and then shoot them, ”the source of the publication suggested. Rostelecom, MTS, Megafon and Beeline declined to comment on the exercises.
It is known that similar exercises were held in 2019, then in 2021. In the first case, they were held in Moscow, Rostov and Vladimir. During the exercises, the stability of the Internet to external influences and the safety of cellular subscribers were tested.
In May 2019, President Putin signed a law on an autonomous Internet. According to it, Roskomnadzor should centrally manage the Russian segment of the Internet, filtering traffic, and providers are required to install devices «to counter threats to sustainability.» The equipment must be supplied by the state.
As RBC notes, since there have been no cases of Russia being disconnected from the global Internet, the authorities use DPI systems installed by operators to block content or slow down the speed of social networks.