Russian law to separate the country from the global internet

With the growing adoption of new-age technologies like internet of things, augmented reality and machine-to-machine communications in enterprise settings, the need for deploying edge computing as a key enabler has also gained greater currency.

Very soon the Internet will bifurcate into Chinese-led and US-led versions within the next decade. The fact is the chinese Internet is a greater percentage of the GDP of China, which is a big number, than the same percentage of the US, which is also a big number.

· The recent Runet law passed in the parliament this week, it’ll separate the country from the global internet. Resulting Russia is positioning the law as a necessity to maintain the country’s security from cyberthreats. The law will likely put obligations on any U.S. company that operates networks in Russia to replace equipment, and possibly raise concerns about government-sponsored surveillance of enterprises with offices there.

A new law that could further cordon Russia from the global internet passed the country’s parliament this week and awaits President Vladimir Putin’s signature. Moscow has positioned the law as a security and privacy measure, meant to counter what it has said is an increasingly aggressive cybersecurity stance by the U.S. and increasingly risky threat landscape generally. But activists and other international observers outside Russia say the law would give Putin’s government far greater control over internet traffic within the country.Russia already keeps a relatively tight grip on allowing U.S. social media companies there, providing government-backed alternatives to popular services like Facebook (VKontakte or VK in Russia) and Google’s Gmail (Mail.ru in Russia).

The Runet law,which is believed to be more stable,it would give the Russian communications regulator, known as Roskomnadzor, broader powers to monitor network traffic and potentially provide a “kill switch” to disconnect Russia from the wider internet in the event of cyberattack. Essentially, the law is meant to help create a digital drawbridge between Russia and the rest of the world that the country can raise in an emergency.

While the Kremlin says the law is meant to increase security, many observers, especially human rights groups, have speculated it will further increase censorship initiatives from Putin’s government.

China’s Great Wall was established when the Internet came to China, so it developed along with the development of the internet in China. China’s system provides direct control of internet traffic to the Communist Party government in Beijing, while the Russian proposal gives indirect control to several bodies — including the Roskomnadzor, the Federal Security Service and the central Russian government.

For instance, the law imposes obligations on communications service providers to filter information received from cross-border data transfers and purchase special equipment which will create autonomy of the Russian part of the internet. The law will likely to put obligations on any U.S. company that operates networks in Russia to replace equipment, and possibly raise concerns about government-sponsored surveillance of enterprises with offices there, said Yampolskiy.