Russia to Launch Secure Internet Pilot Project Before the End of the Year

Media reports have revealed that a pilot project of secure Internet will be launched in Russia before the end of this year. This secure network will be available only to citizens of the country using a personal identifier. In this network, only safe, proven services will be available, the owners of which comply with all the requirements of the current legislation.

What is the Aim of the Secure Network?

Andrey Svintsov, Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Information Policy, Information Technologies and Communications, said that the main goal of the secure national segment of the Internet is to ensure the safety of citizens. He stated that the Internet technology needed to be “changed” so that the network became “absolutely transparent” and it was impossible to access it from various “anonymous devices”.
The deputy noted that the unsecured Internet will also remain, but the users themselves will be responsible for their personal data and other aspects of security. He added that the secure network will provide protection from spam mailings, from fraud, and from sites that are called phishing, that is, they steal money by replacing the recipient or duplicating the pages of popular sites.

How Will the Secure Network be Implemented?

Svintsov said that the mechanism for implementing a secure network is being discussed with the professional community – “communication operators, manufacturers of Russian chips and hardware, and companies developing cybersecurity software.” He also noted that the user will need to register with a passport, get a personal identifier – and then from anywhere in the world it will be possible to enter the “secure part of the Internet”.
The deputy assured that “the technology is clear”, and the developers “have a patent for it.” He refused to talk in detail about this development, but noted that “a pilot test is planned before the end of the year.”
Telecom Daily CEO Denis Kuskov noted that it is not yet very clear how to implement Svintsov’s proposal and register citizens on the network with a passport. He said that in Russia, 80 million people actively use the Internet, and it is not clear how all these people will present their passports, given that not all of them are registered with Gosuslugi. He also added that if there is registration by phone number, then one needs to remember that in Russia, according to research, there are 7 million gray SIM cards.