Russia Not Yet Technologically Ready for a “Sovereign Runet”
According to Novaya Gazeta, Dmitry Nikolayevich Peskov, the Special Representative of the President of Russia for Digital and Technological Development, has stated that the country is not yet ready to implement the “Sovereign Runet” law. Starting November 1, 2019, the law on the “isolation of Runet” comes into effect. Roskomnadzor and telecom operators have begun full-scale testing of equipment that will allow for changes in traffic routing and filtering of unwanted content. The testing is being conducted under heightened secrecy. Roskomnadzor has not disclosed which specific equipment is being tested, where the experiments are taking place, or who the main contractors and beneficiaries are.
The DPI (Deep Packet Inspection) system operates at various levels of the OSI model (from the second to the seventh) across protocols, applications, and services, including multicast and service protocols. Testing of the DPI system began in October 2019, and the technology is expected to be fully operational at the beginning of the following year.
The Ural Federal District was chosen for the initial trials of the universal traffic filtering system (DPI). It is likely that some providers in the Murmansk region are also conducting similar DPI system tests.
According to Alexander Zharov, head of Roskomnadzor, the installation of equipment to ensure the “stability of Runet” should be completed by November. All major telecom operators have joined Roskomnadzor’s project. Currently, the experiment with implementing the DPI system is being carried out in various forms, from laboratory to field tests.
So far, there have been no official comments or information from operators or Roskomnadzor regarding the results of the testing or the readiness of providers’ network equipment to launch the new system, which will allow for changes in traffic routing and filtering of unwanted content starting November 1, 2019.
On October 19, 2019, Presidential Advisor on Information Technology Dmitry Peskov stated that Russia is not ready to implement the “Sovereign Runet” law, which is set to take effect on November 1, 2019. When asked whether a sufficient amount of equipment had been installed and whether the DPI (Deep Packet Inspection) system had been tested, he answered in the negative.
Peskov made this statement during the opening of the NTI and Energynet department at Sevastopol State University this past Saturday.
Dmitry Peskov, Presidential Advisor on Information Technology:
“Technologically, the country is not ready. It is very important that we develop domestic technologies, including protecting our information networks and systems,” Peskov emphasized in a conversation with a Novaya Gazeta correspondent.
“Therefore, the implementation of the ‘Runet isolation’ law will proceed gradually, as the technological readiness of equipment and operators increases,” Peskov stated. When asked how well the DPI system being tested by Roskomnadzor is developed to avoid slowing down traffic, he noted that at the moment, no perfect systems exist.
“Slower traffic is the price for technological security; it is important that this price is not excessive,” Peskov added.
Previously, network specialists from providers warned that residents of regions where the DPI system is being tested may experience difficulties with some internet services, up to and including blocked access to various online resources.
Most provisions of the “Runet isolation” law will take effect on November 1, while others, including the creation of a national domain zone, will come into force in 2021. Providers will be required to install technical means that, in the event of the Russian segment being “disconnected,” will allow Roskomnadzor to centrally manage the network. At other times, the equipment will be used to block prohibited resources.