Roskomnadzor proposes to block websites containing information about VPN services starting March 1, 2024.

Photo: openverse.org

“Evening Moscow” turned to a specialist to find out whether tools for bypassing Internet blocks would be available in Russia, and whether the population would be able to continue using prohibited social networks.

Will they really block it? According to an information security expert Sergei Vakulinblocking of VPN services in Russia is quite real.

“At the moment, even applications designed to bypass the ban on using VPN are blocked. A few weeks ago, Roskomnadzor began blocking data encryption protocols,” he said.

However, the specialist also noted that in Russia there are many such protocols and a complete ban on tools for bypassing blocking will still be difficult to implement.

“Even if most of them disappear, there will always be at least one through which users can access their favorite social networks,” explained Vakulin.

Complete ban? The expert also clarified under what circumstances Russian users may lose access to Instagram*, Facebook* or the former Twitter*.

“This is only possible if Russia is completely disconnected from the global Internet and creates its own network within the country. A similar principle is used in China,” Vakulin said.

In China, there is a separate network that is used only by residents of the country, and they do not have access to the global Internet, the expert added.

Consequences of blocking When Roskomnadzor begins blocking well-known VPN services, users may be forced to look for private VPNs that will allow them to bypass the ban and access blocked social networks, Vakulin warned.

“Private VPN services are kind of hidden tools of the digital world. Technically they exist, but Roskomnadzor has no information about them. In this case, the agency will have to carefully monitor each user to determine where their Internet traffic is directed. For the agency, this will be unprofitable,” the expert emphasized.

*The Meta company (recognized as an extremist organization in the Russian Federation and banned), which owns Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, is included in the relevant register of the Ministry of Justice.