Russia plans to unplug from internet in cyber-defense test

Russia is considering a plan to disconnect from the internet temporarily in order to determine how its cyber-defenses would fare in case of foreign aggression.

The plan is part of a draft law, called Digital Economy National Program, which was submitted to Russia’s parliament last year, BBC News reports, citing Russian media.

The test, expected to be carried out before April 1, will see whether online data can be passed between citizens and organizations inside the country without having to be routed internationally, the report said.

Under the proposed law, Russia wants to build its own version of the net’s address system, known as Domain Name System (DNS), which could still operate if links to foreign-based servers were disconnected.

Currently, 12 groups oversee the key servers for DNS and none of them are in Russia. However, many copies of the internet’s core address book exist inside Russia, suggesting its own network could continue operating even if cut off from the global system, the BBC said.

The plan is also believed to be part of an effort to set up a mass censorship system akin to that seen in China, the report added.