Kaspersky Complies With Kremlin Blacklist As Other VPN Services Remain Defiant

omidomi

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MOSCOW -- A Russian cybersecurity company has become the latest to comply with controversial government legislation on Internet freedoms, according to a watchdog group and VPN users who say they have been denied access to websites blacklisted by the state communications regulator.

MOSCOW -- A Russian cybersecurity company has become the latest to comply with controversial government legislation on Internet freedoms, according to a watchdog group and VPN users who say they have been denied access to websites blacklisted by the state communications regulator.

Users of the Kaspersky Secure Connection VPN, sold by Moscow-based IT company Kaspersky Lab, have reported that sites blocked on Russian territory are no longer accessible.

Roskomsvoboda, an organization that monitors online censorship in Russia, said on July 1 that it had received e-mails from several users of Kaspersky’s service.

“It simply says the page doesn’t exist,” Roskomsvoboda cited one user as saying. The user added that the VPN “logs everything” by recording a list of websites visited by the service.
Other users attempting to access blacklisted content reported seeing a message from the government regulator, Roskomnadzor, that links to a searchable version of the state register on banned websites.

Responding to a request for comment, Kaspersky said that it “complies with the laws of all the countries where it operates, including Russia.”

“At the same time, Roskomnadzor requirements don’t affect the main purpose of Kaspersky Secure Connection, which protects user privacy and ensures confidentiality and protection against data interception, for example, when using open WiFi networks, making online payments at cafes, airports or hotels,” the company said in an e-mail.

“Additionally, the new requirements are relevant to VPN use only in Russian territory and do not concern users in other countries,” it said.

Banning VPNs

In July 2017, the Kremlin introduced fresh restrictions on Internet use as part of what observers say is an ongoing campaign to centralize control over Russia’s segment of the web. They included a ban on Internet proxy services -- including virtual private networks, or VPNs -- and a crackdown on anonymous use of instant messaging services.

Amnesty International called the development a "major blow to Internet freedom" in Russia.
"To understand how the ban will work, it is enough to look at China, where Apple has just made a deplorable decision to remove most major VPN apps from the local version of its App Store," Denis Krivosheev, its deputy director for Europe and Central Asia, said at the time.

Last March, Roskomnadzor sent a request to 10 VPN service providers demanding that they comply with the new law. All the companies except Kaspersky are foreign-based, and all except Kaspersky either ignored the request or refused to comply with it.

The watchdog’s deadline passed in May, but no direct action appears to have been taken.

Roskomnadzor head Aleksandr Zharov told business daily Vedomosti on June 26 that nine VPN services continue to violate the law. He added that the watchdog may fine the companies in question instead of trying to block them, though that would require a change in legislation.

“We have the right to block VPN services which do not comply with the law, but there’s no requirement to do this within a certain time frame,” he said.

It is unclear what force Russia’s fines will have outside its jurisdiction, where the majority of VPN providers are based. According to Sarkis Darbinyan of Roskomsvoboda, the online rights group, many companies view the threat of fines as an empty one.

“You can impose all the fines you like, but forcing compliance from companies based in different jurisdictions, many of which have no agreements on online cooperation with Russia, will do little,” Darbinyan told RFE/RL in a telephone interview.

He said the government has the legal power to block VPNs but it lacks the technical capability -- such services are complex enough to skirt even the notorious Chinese Firewall.

“Since they forge invisible bridges and encrypt traffic, they can’t be blocked by simple means. Only websites from which they’re downloaded can be blocked,” he said.
He suggested one way the Russian government could restrict access is by removing VPN services from app stores accessible in the country, as China has done.

Intelligence Ties?

Darbinyan said that compliance by Kaspersky would not be surprising.

“Kaspersky was never a company that fought with the Russian authorities. On the contrary, it’s actively cooperated with them,” he said. “So compliance with Russian laws won’t raise any dilemmas for them.”

In 2017, the U.S. government banned use of Kaspersky software on government computers, warning that the company has suspected links to Russian intelligence. Kaspersky denies any ties to the Russian government or its spies.

Darbinyan suspects such developments have made the company more reliant on its performance on the Russian market.

“Kaspersky is a Russian company, so it has to follow Russian laws or there’ll be consequences for them and all their products. They can’t afford that,” he said.

Since 2017, Roskomnadzor has kept a list of websites that search engines operating in Russia are legally obliged to censor. The list includes websites carrying content deemed extremist or promoting things like suicide or drugs. Illegal gambling and certain pornographic sites are also on the blacklist.

On February 7, Russian media reported that Google had begun to censor search results in Russia after a protracted standoff with Roskomnadzor. One anonymous official at the agency claimed the U.S.-based company was blocking some 70 percent of the websites blacklisted by Russia.
 

Ink

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Does Kaspersky Secure Connection VPN use their their own servers, or provided by a 3rd-party?
 
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Mahesh Sudula

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Does Kaspersky Secure Connection VPN use their their own servers, or provided by a 3rd-party?
Provided by Hot spot shield
Screenshot_2019-07-07-19-05-11-510_com.android.chrome.png
 
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Dave Russo

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Do you think getting "rid" of vpn"s will make ransomware attacks,way less ,I wonder if this is one of the main reasons for Govt. restriction? privacy is not going to last, enjoy it while you can
 
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Zorro

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I will comment on this news as a person living in Russia :) Life here is harsh, not sugar, as they say. But I can understand the deed of Kaspersky Lab. This submission to the laws of the country in whose jurisdiction the company is located. Are American vendors not subject to the laws of America? The same can be said about Europe. The question of how democratic these laws are is another matter. But the law is the law, whatever it is, it must be observed while it is in force. I doubt that the American and European vendors do not cooperate with the special services of the countries in which they are located. Why, then, the submission to the legislation of Russia and the possible (!!!) cooperation with the special services (FSB) from the side of Kaspersky Lab is presented as "violation of freedom and confidentiality", as something negative, while submission to the legislation of America (Europe) and possible (!!!) cooperation with the special services of America (Europe) (NSA and others) is presented as "the fight against world terrorism for the good of the whole world"? And in general, how many ordinary home users generally know what a VPN is? Sure, 9 out of 10 users are not aware of what it is and why. I don’t know, though, like in Europe, but you can say that about Russian users. And of those people who know on an ongoing basis, far from all use, the majority use only from time to time. I used the VPN from Kaspersky for a long time, but I left it a year ago, because the free tariff was not enough, but it was expensive to pay, so I switched to another program that I’m happy with. Therefore, all this noise and cries about the “loss of privacy” around Kaspersky Secure Connection VPN is another planned action to undermine the reputation of a large international company (as the ancient Romans said - “look for who benefits”). Absolute online privacy was not and is not now. As one user said at one forum: "If you are interested in special services and a state (any state, even Russia, even America, at least in Europe or in Asia), then no VPN, no TOR or proxy server will save you. You will press like a cockroach".
 

Cortex

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My feeling is at some point VPN's will become illegal in the UK & other western democracy's they whoever they are will find a good reason.
 

DeepWeb

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lol not only do they comply with Russia, they are partnering with Hotspot Shield... So basically nothing private about their VPN. Yeah... my next security solution is going to be Eset. Better safe than sorry.
 
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