The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB), successor of the Soviet-era KGB, calls Gmail, Hotmail, and Skype encrypted communications a national security threat, prompting fears that they might get banned.
"Different software is being distributed allowing the encryption of traffic: that is services including Gmail, Hotmail and Skype.
"The uncontrolled use of these services could lead to a large-scale threat to Russian security," Alexander Andreyechkin, head of the Federal Security Service's special communications centre, told a government technology commission, according to RIA Novosti.
Andreyechkin's statement attracted quite a few angry comments from Russian Internet users who accuse the FSB of trying to block services like in China.
