Report: Russia plans major expansion of server shutdowns targeting VPN infrastructure
VPN service providers are bracing for sweeping blocks targeting hosting infrastructure in Russia, the Telegram channel Kod Durova reported April 20, citing sources.
Services are expecting a “large-scale purge” as the State Duma, the lower house of Russia’s parliament, has advanced amendments that would bar Russian hosting providers from supplying computing capacity to VPN operators.
Shutting down servers used for VPN is not a new measure, one of the outlet’s sources said, but authorities now plan to “crank it up to the max” to make it the primary instrument of censorship.
Against this backdrop, some VPN providers have begun urging users to purchase long-term subscriptions, Kod Durova said. The outlet’s source advised users against doing so, saying the likelihood of services being blocked at the hosting level is extremely high.
If pressure on hosting providers proves insufficiently effective, regulators have additional scenarios in reserve for restricting the operation of protocols — the details of which the expert preferred not to disclose for now.
Russian authorities have intensified their crackdown on VPN services amid the blocking of Telegram and WhatsApp, two of the country’s most widely used messaging apps. By mid-April, major Russian internet platforms had restricted access to their sites and apps for users with an active VPN, acting on government orders. Russia also banned topping up Apple Account balances from a mobile phone account starting April 1. Separately, there have been discussions of introducing a fee for mobile data used while connected to a VPN.
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