“The Internet in Russia can be turned off in a few minutes”

The presidential elections in Russia will take place this weekend. The winner has already been determined: President Vladimir Putin will secure a new term in office through sham elections.

In order to return to power, he had the country’s constitution changed. This means that he can remain in office with more powers until 2036 if he is re-elected. All serious opponents are not allowed to run for various alleged reasons.

But the war in Ukraine has increased criticism in the country. Despite massive persecution, the voices of opponents are growing louder, as is the regime’s repression against them. The death of the Kremlin’s most famous opponent, Alexei Navalny, on February 16 is one more reason for some Russians to raise their voices.

Independent Russian media in exile are used to massive cyber attacks. However, these have intensified since Navalny’s death and shortly before the presidential elections. According to the company, one of the most important ones, ‘Meduza’, is currently hit every ten to twenty minutes. The news portal team is engaged in a cyber war and is warning people in the country of significant internet restrictions.

Independent media in Russia experiences the “biggest attack” in history

According to Meduza, Russian authorities have developed new technologies to monitor the Internet in recent months. The goal: to ‘filter’ and limit online content. «The most popular messengers – Telegram and WhatsApp – are falling. The bitter battle against VPN services continues »writes the Russian media in exile, which was completely banned in the country in January 2023 and now operates from abroad.

According to reports, there were massive local restrictions on the internet during Navalny’s funeral. The high-speed mobile network was disabled.

«Since Navalny’s murder, hackers have targeted independent media and activists. Meduza experiences the largest attack in its history », says the medium. All in all, the situation looks “very alarming”.

Russia: People should prepare for ‘shit’

The fear is that the Russian regime under Putin could, if necessary, turn the Internet into Cheburnet. This is an autonomous Russian Internet that can easily be isolated and therefore abused and censored. At least for the time during and possibly after the elections.

The independent Novaya Gazeta also reports: “The Internet in Russia can be turned off in a few minutes: the state has set up a system for control, filtering and monitoring.” Or, as ‘Meduza’ puts it: ‘We gotta prepare for shit.’

The journalists describe in detail what exactly this ‘shit’ could look like and how the independent medium defends itself against it.

They assume that Russian authorities can shut down or slow down the internet locally in areas where there are many people. This can also affect key messengers and social networks. “Telegram, WhatsApp and YouTube will die – temporarily or forever”it is[called[genaamd

The forecast also states that most VPN services will no longer be available locally. “And undoubtedly, hackers linked to the authorities will try to completely destroy the websites of independent media – including ‘Meduza’,” the news portal wrote.

Russia elections: “Meduza” sets up SOS communications

There is great resistance to these attacks. Despite several cyber attacks per hour, the medium managed to avoid a definitive shutdown.

“Meduza” fears that it will not be able to withstand the attacks shortly before and during the elections. There is a threat of complete ‘annihilation’. For this reason, the medium has created an SOS newsletter for those who want to stay informed. Just “just in case”.

Because emails may remain one of the few ways to continue accessing information, even with strict internet restrictions. The authorities are unable to filter these effectively. However, this only applies to mailboxes on third-party servers, such as Gmail or Yahoo. “Under no circumstances should you use Russian email services such as Yandex and Mail.ru – there is every reason to believe that these are filtering emails,” it says.

The following words show how devastating the freedom of information situation in Russia could become in the future: “There are absolutely no signs that the situation in Russia will improve in the near future.” And: “Take good care of yourself. Do not lose hope.”

Sources