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RBC analysed draft law to control routing for internet traffic in Russia – main points

RBC published main points of draft law and explained what it means and how it can be implemented. Russian ministry of communication has developed amendments to laws “About communication” and “About information, its protection and informational technologies”. Main purpose of this draft law is control over internet traffic. If the draft law will be adopted, a new official state register of IP addresses (for Russian segment of internet – RUnet) can appear.

Mincom intends to make analogue of RIPE. In Russia there is its “colleague” – coordination center for TLD RU. In official register should be included a range of IP-addresses, but not individual IP-addresses of users. Communication operators and any other company, creating its own networks, after receiving IP-addresses from Russian coordination center, must notify relevant authority responsible for such register. It is intended to create a system similar to Routing information service (RIS), which collects stores and processes routing information in internet. Such state system could help to track, for example, DDoS attacks. In internet banking, for example, MITM attacks are used by intermediaries when initial traffic is substituted, so new system should restrict and even block such injurious traffic.

Mincom also intends to create second register of traffic exchange points and to oblige operators to use only registered points. It will be proposed to holders of these points to build on account of state budget reserve channels of communication. Only operators, who have licence on cross-border data communication, can organise international communication channels. Such international communication is not under control of SORM (system of technical means to provide function of investigative measures) which must be installed by each Russian operator. All proposed measures should help to create “reserve copy” of RUnet and make it work even if it will be cut off from world network.

In June 2015 Russian minister of communication has explained to RBC that “currently internet is managed by legal entity located in certain country (ICANN, based in USA). American partners stated many times they intend to transfer a management of critical infrastructure of internet to international community – authority, where different public world organisations will be represented. But it’s not happened.” Alexandr Veneduhin believes RUnet theoretically can be cut off from global network and as a result not only RUnet will be shut down but even internal Russian resources will be unavailable for Russians. If this thing will happen, RUnet will be like many “islets” disconnected between each other. Oleg Demidov from Russian center of political research believed RUnet can be cut off from global network on DNS system level.