In Dagestan on December 6, interruptions were reported in the operation of foreign services such as WhatsApp, Telegram, and YouTube. The disruptions were caused by exercises conducted by Roskomnadzor, during which scenarios for disconnecting access to the foreign Internet segment were being tested. Ellco and R-line providers informed users that restrictions in access to certain sites and services were implemented from 16:00.
According to a notification sent to subscribers, the restrictions were put in place due to Roskomnadzor’s exercises. Unfortunately, the providers stated that they could not influence the situation. Earlier in November, a letter was sent to Russian banks by the Central Bank, informing them of Roskomnadzor’s plans to conduct exercises in December to disable access to the foreign segment of the internet in specific regions.
Roskomnadzor explained that these exercises are conducted annually to check the readiness of key systems to ensure stability of the Russian Internet (Runet). The schedule for these exercises is approved by the Ministry of Construction of Russia in coordination with the FSB of Russia and Roskomnadzor. These checks do not impact access to the internet for Russian users.
The purpose of the exercises is to confirm the readiness of Russian infrastructure to maintain key foreign and Russian services in the event of deliberate external interference. Roskomnadzor, along with communication operators, assesses the effectiveness of key infrastructure substitution in case of a deliberate disconnection from the outside of the Russian internet segment. The exercises also aim to identify information systems that rely on connections with resources located in foreign communication networks.