I believe Eric Schmidt was the first to predict this:
https://www.businessinsider.fr/us/eric-schmidt-internet-will...
Russia 'successfully tests' its unplugged internet
101–110 of 146 posts
Re: Russia 'successfully tests' its unplugged internet
#102China:naive boy
Re: Russia 'successfully tests' its unplugged internet
#103> "Increasingly, authoritarian countries which want to control what citizens see are looking at what Iran and China have already done.
The US does the same. Indeed, the US takes down stuff globally, often by pwning a site's primary DNS servers.
But of course, they claim that they are only taking down "illegal" sites. But there's rarely (if ever) any sort of due process.
Edit: This is a well known fact. The FBI even brags about it, from time to time. But if any y'all want to claim that it's not, or is somehow distinguishable, please do share.
Edit: For example, the FBI took down a news site, which was arguably protected by the Constitution:
... and you can see it through early 2019 here:
Re: Russia 'successfully tests' its unplugged internet
#104> Details of what the test involved were vague So we don’t know what exactly they tested. Why is this news, let alone an international one? Also, as far as I understand, what the Russians were officially saying was that they were developing fallback systems for the event if, in another bout of sanctions, Russia gets disconnected from the global internet. Which, given their standing with the international community, m…
It was almost certainly a test of a local root zone, a Russian-controlled DNS scheme capable of standing in for the real system. This could be tested without literally disconnecting and wouldn't be very difficult with the cooperation of local isps. But it probably broke https.
Re: Russia 'successfully tests' its unplugged internet
#105Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Like e.g. having some government-mandated apps preinstalled on every phone sold here, which is coming into force in some following months. It is the news the exact meaning of which is open to interpretation. Given that those pre-installed apps can be uninstalled, we should at least allow a possibility that rather than being an insidious tactic to spy on users this is simply a clumsy protectionist anti-competitive l…
For starters, where do you see that the apps can be uninstalled? Since when system-installed apps can be removed by a user without rooting or replacing the system? Secondly, pretending that this is an independent event and that the government, Duma, courts and police have a shred of good will after what they were doing for the last ten–twenty years, is so laughable that your insistence on that interpretation is baffl…
> For starters, where do you see that the apps can be uninstalled? Since when system-installed apps can be removed by a user without rooting or replacing the system?
Which is an issue that affects pretty much every smartphone with a default Android ROM: Google is baked deep in there, often there's a ton of additional smartphone vendor bloat and trackingware.
A lot, if not all of that data can be accessed by US intelligence agencies trough the third-party doctrine [0].
The same applies to the biggest social media companies out there, they are all US based: Billions of people, all over the world, tell Facebook their deepest secrets and most personal and private details.
For any non-American that's a massive OpSec risk just waiting to happen, its making large parts of populations suddenly very transparent and vulnerable to all kinds of nasty tactics like blackmail [1].
Which is one of the main reasons why countries like Russia and China push domestic alternatives: It's not all just about controlling the platform, the biggest part of it is giving their citizens a local alternative that doesn't mass-scale dox them to an "adversary state".
In that context, I consider it kinda weird how US Americans freak out over TikTok being Chinese and some app by Russian developers sending data to Amazon servers, supposedly being "massive security risks".
But when other countries don't want to give up their populations data wholesale to the US, that's suddenly made out as pure oppressive authoritarianism.
Re: Russia 'successfully tests' its unplugged internet
#106Earlier quoted context omitted.
> the journalists present this story as Russia's voluntary step towards isolating itself from the global internet. I am not sure why. Some potential benefits to Russia: 1. Thwart cyber attacks 2. Control information 3. Halt foreign online payments There are of course downsides, but I think the original premise was security in the event of war / aggression.
> 3. Halt foreign online payments That is extremely unlikely to happen. Payments, banking, investment will be always connected, or placed abroad in the required way. At least for important enough transactions - probably not Amazon, but stock trades...
>> 3. Halt foreign online payments
> That is extremely unlikely to happen.
That's what very much has already happened. Visa and MasterCard pulled their services a few years ago after another set of US sanctions. Also, if you are a business and using SWIFT to transact - US has the final say what you can and can not do. So now Russia has it's own payment card system MiR and working with China, India and even Iran on alternative to SWIFT.
I think it was a mistake for US to retract payment services. A smaller country may be severely affected by it indeed, but not a country of the size of Russia, China or India.
Now if payment networks were pulled, then what is next? Internet would be the logical follow-up. Hence the testing. It all makes perfect sense when you look at it from Rissia's side.
Re: Russia 'successfully tests' its unplugged internet
#107Too bad it’s only a test.
Please don't post nationalistic flamebait to HN. No snarky one-liners either. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html Edit: you've been breaking the site guidelines badly and repeatedly lately. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21868444 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21853510 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21864399 If you keep doing this we're going to have to ban you again. I'd rather not, be…
Ban me. Do it, you royal faggot.
Bonus points: you linked the same URL twice, you dummy.
These guidelines as you selectively enforce them are a motherfucking joke and the entire site knows it.
Also I was never banned, you truth-twisting faggot.
Fuck off and die loser.
Re: Russia 'successfully tests' its unplugged internet
#108Earlier quoted context omitted.
For starters, where do you see that the apps can be uninstalled? Since when system-installed apps can be removed by a user without rooting or replacing the system? Secondly, pretending that this is an independent event and that the government, Duma, courts and police have a shred of good will after what they were doing for the last ten–twenty years, is so laughable that your insistence on that interpretation is baffl…
> For starters, where do you see that the apps can be uninstalled? Since when system-installed apps can be removed by a user without rooting or replacing the system? Which is an issue that affects pretty much every smartphone with a default Android ROM: Google is baked deep in there, often there's a ton of additional smartphone vendor bloat and trackingware. A lot, if not all of that data can be accessed by US intell…
You are not wrong, but right now the consequences are materially different.
As a Russian citizen it is not uncommon to go to jail for two years for expressing anti government views online, that kind of thing does not happen int he west - for now.
Re: Russia 'successfully tests' its unplugged internet
#109Earlier quoted context omitted.
When all that mess with Russia/Ukraine had started the West was openly contemplating disconnecting Russia from the international payment services. That had lead Russia to develop it's own. The Internet is a vital infrastructure element. Leaving the risk of potential disruption to some US congressmen's whims is not a very wise choice. Of course it can be used with bad intentions as well but so can anything else. I thi…
> the West was openly contemplating disconnecting Russia from the international payment services This is a claim made by the Russian government with little actual support as far as I know. It comes up every once in a while when the issue is mentioned, and is usually uncritically accepted.
Couple of things, it seems that it is you who make the claim with little actual support.
Here:From the "JOINT MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION" from the European Parlament ( https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/RC-8-2014-0118... )
" 12. Recalls that the restrictive measures taken by the EU are directly linked to the Russian Federation’s violation of international law with the illegal annexation of Crimea and the destabilisation of Ukraine, while the trade measures taken by the Russian Federation, including those against Ukraine and other Eastern Partnership countries which have recently concluded Association Agreements with the EU, are unjustified; calls for the EU to consider excluding Russia from civil nuclear cooperation and the Swift system; "
Now as far as it concerns the Internet there is even no real need to bring Swift example. Any country would be insane to let their Internet infrastructure under someone else's control. Question of course how much it will cost to build a replacement for situations if the things go sour. So for many countries, especially the ones that are on friendly terms with the US, they can let it slide. Not so much for Russia, China etc.
Re: Russia 'successfully tests' its unplugged internet
#110Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Like e.g. having some government-mandated apps preinstalled on every phone sold here, which is coming into force in some following months. It is the news the exact meaning of which is open to interpretation. Given that those pre-installed apps can be uninstalled, we should at least allow a possibility that rather than being an insidious tactic to spy on users this is simply a clumsy protectionist anti-competitive l…
For starters, where do you see that the apps can be uninstalled? Since when system-installed apps can be removed by a user without rooting or replacing the system? Secondly, pretending that this is an independent event and that the government, Duma, courts and police have a shred of good will after what they were doing for the last ten–twenty years, is so laughable that your insistence on that interpretation is baffl…
>Since when system-installed apps can be removed by a user without rooting or replacing the system
Why are you adding this restriction? Rooting or replacing the system are totally valid of getting rid of these things.