Russia plans to conduct a global DNS withdrawal test in December 2024

In December 2024, the Russian government plans to launch a simulated exercise on leaving the global domain name system (DNS). The main goal of this exercise is to verify whether Russia's information system can operate normally and ensure network security when disconnected from the global Internet. Russian news agencies reported that the test will focus on how to maintain the stability of the domestic Internet under isolation.

Global network isolation: Russia's Internet "closed test"

Before the official announcement of the test plan, some parts of Russia, especially Dagestan, Chechnya and Ingushetia, have experienced a short network "isolation". During the test, which lasted about 24 hours, local residents could not access international websites such as Google and YouTube, and social media platforms such as WhatsApp and Telegram were also blocked. In addition, Russia's local search engine Yandex and its related services were also unable to work normally, despite attempts to connect through a virtual private network (VPN).

According to the Russian Federal Communications Regulatory Agency Roskomnadzor, this action is mainly to test the security of Russia's domestic network (i.e. "Runet") and ensure the stability of key Internet services in the face of external attacks. The agency also stressed that the exercise was conducted to meet Russia's 2019 decree, which requires regular assessments of the emergency response capabilities of Internet infrastructure.

Increased supervision of foreign hosting providers

Roskomnadzor also warned some international hosting providers, pointing out that strict restrictions may be imposed on several well-known service providers, including GoDaddy, Amazon Web Services, HostGator, Kamatera, etc. in the future. These companies failed to meet several Russian regulatory requirements, such as:

1.Ensure the information security of data centers.

2.Cooperate with Russian monitoring agencies to deal with distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks.

3.Participate in regular network stability exercises.

4.Register with Roskomnadzor to become a legal hosting provider.

These warnings are a sign that Russia is strengthening its control over foreign hosting providers and trying to reduce its dependence on external Internet infrastructure.

Free Internet access is limited: identity verification becomes a new threshold

In addition to the supervision of international hosting providers, Russia's Internet access policy is also changing. Unlike many Western countries that offer free access, Russia requires domestic hosting providers to verify user identities via mobile phone numbers or the government-run Single System for Identification (ESIA), which uses biometrics to further improve network security and limit anonymous access.