Russia Conducts Exercise to Ensure Sustainable and Safe Functioning of the Internet

On the night of July 4-5, 2023, Russia conducted exercises to ensure the sustainable, safe and holistic functioning of the Internet, according to sources. During the exercises, the international segment of the Internet was turned off.
A representative of Roskomnadzor told RBC that the exercises were successful. He also reminded that, according to the law on the stability of the Runet, exercises should be held at least once a year.
Representatives of Rostelecom, MTS, MegaFon and VimpelCom (Beeline brand) declined to comment on issues related to the exercises.
One of the interlocutors in the telecommunications market said that the declared task of the law “On Sovereign Runet” was to keep the Russian segment of the network functioning while it was turned off from the outside.
“During the exercises, they could check whether the Runet really continues to work with such a shutdown. Body armor is tested in the same way when they are put on mannequins and then shot,” said RBC’s interlocutor.
The law “On the Sovereign Runet” requires the owners of communication networks, Internet companies and other market players to take part in exercises on the integrity and stability of the functioning of the Internet to negative external influences in Russia at least once a year. The exercise plan is approved by the Ministry of Digital Development together with the FSB, the Ministry of Defense, the FSO, the Ministry of Emergency Situations and the Federal Service for Technical and Export Control.
RBC notes that the authorities rarely disclose the results of such exercises. For example, it is known that at the end of 2019 they worked out the security of cellular subscribers, including the protection of personal data and the possibility of intercepting traffic and SMS, disclosing information about their location, tested the risks and vulnerabilities of smart devices at critical information infrastructure facilities. In mid-2021, they checked the possibility of the Runet to work in the event of external distortions, blocking and other threats.
The founder of Qrator Labs, Alexander Lyamin, said that the modern Internet is well connected and very difficult to divide, so “theoretically, it is impossible to predict which part of the Runet will stop working when it is disconnected from the global network.”
“The exercises conducted are an attempt at a live experiment to test readiness for such a development of events: to what extent the Russian segment of the Internet can function stably offline. In fact, this can be compared to how to cut off a hand and see how long it will live,” said Lyamin.

What is the Law on the Stability of the Runet?

The Law on the Stability of the Runet is a Russian law that was passed in 2019. It requires the owners of communication networks, Internet companies and other market players to take part in exercises on the integrity and stability of the functioning of the Internet to negative external influences in Russia at least once a year. The exercise plan is approved by the Ministry of Digital Development together with the FSB, the Ministry of Defense, the FSO, the Ministry of Emergency Situations and the Federal Service for Technical and Export Control.
The law was passed to ensure the sustainable, safe and holistic functioning of the Internet. It also requires the owners of communication networks, Internet companies and other market players to take part in exercises to test the security of cellular subscribers, including the protection of personal data and the possibility of intercepting traffic and SMS, disclosing information about their location, and testing the risks and vulnerabilities of smart devices at critical information infrastructure facilities.

What Happened During the Exercises?

On the night of July 4-5, 2023, Russia conducted exercises to ensure the sustainable, safe and holistic functioning of the Internet. During the exercises, the international segment of the Internet was turned off.
A representative of Roskomnadzor told RBC that the exercises were successful. He also reminded that, according to the law on the stability of the Runet, exercises should be held at least once a year.
Representatives of Rostelecom, MTS, MegaFon and VimpelCom (Beeline brand) declined to comment on issues related to the exercises.
One of the interlocutors in the telecommunications market said that the declared task of the law “On Sovereign Runet” was to keep the Russian segment of the network functioning while it was turned off from the outside.
“During the exercises, they could check whether the Runet really continues to work with such a shutdown. Body armor is tested in the same way when they are put on mannequins and then shot,” said RBC’s interlocutor.
The founder of Qrator Labs, Alexander Lyamin, said that the modern Internet is well connected and very difficult to divide, so “theoretically, it is impossible to predict which part of the Runet will stop working when it is disconnected from the global network.”
“The exercises conducted are an attempt at a live experiment to test readiness for such a development of events: to what extent the Russian segment of the Internet can function stably offline. In fact, this can be compared to how to cut off a hand and see how long it will live,” said Lyamin.

Conclusion

Russia conducted exercises to ensure the sustainable, safe and holistic functioning of the Internet on the night of July 4-5, 2023. The international segment of the Internet was turned off during the exercises. The Law on the Stability of the Runet requires the owners of communication networks, Internet companies and other market players to take part in exercises to test the security of cellular subscribers, including the protection of personal data and the possibility of intercepting traffic and SMS, disclosing information about their location, and testing the risks and vulnerabilities of smart devices at critical information infrastructure facilities. The exercises conducted are an attempt at a live experiment to test readiness for such a development of events: to what extent the Russian segment of the Internet can function stably offline.