Privacy News Russian Government Orders ISPs to Hand Over Names of VPN Users

[enaph]

Content source

https://cyberinsider.com/russian-government-orders-isps-to-hand-over-names-of-vpn-users/

Russia's internet regulator, Roskomnadzor (RKN), has issued a directive requiring Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to supply information that could identify users accessing blocked content via VPNs.

The controversial move, part of a broader effort to control digital traffic and combat unauthorized access to restricted sites, has sparked debates over privacy and operational feasibility.

The draft order, published on regulation.gov.ru and reported by Vedomosti, mandates ISPs to provide network-level data, such as IP addresses and device identifiers. While RKN insists this information will not include personal details about users' devices, privacy advocates and experts remain skeptical. The order aligns with amendments to Russia's 2019 information technology laws, particularly those targeting content deemed harmful or offensive under federal legislation 216-FZ.

ISPs will also need to ensure compliance through technical filtering mechanisms, known as TSPU (Technical Means of Countering Threats), which have been mandatory since 2019. RKN expects the system to monitor user traffic continuously and provide data automatically. Operators must begin compliance within three months of the order's enforcement and report user activity in real-time.

Compliance comes at a steep cost. According to the draft, 1,981 ISPs, including 493 already integrated with TSPU, will incur significant operational expenses—estimated at 389 billion rubles annually ($4.1 billion USD). Over six years, these costs could reach a staggering 2.3 trillion rubles ($24 billion USD). Smaller ISPs have voiced concerns over the economic and logistical burden, with some experts predicting market disruptions.

Russia strangles VPN use​

The directive follows legislative changes in March 2024, which outlawed the promotion of tools for circumventing government internet restrictions, such as VPNs. Although VPN usage is not explicitly illegal, hundreds of services have been blocked in recent years. According to RBC, RKN clarified that the data collected under this new initiative would primarily target network-level identifiers rather than personal device data. However, critics argue that such data could still facilitate deeper user profiling.

Legal experts, like Ksenia Kasyanenko, suggest that data from ISPs could potentially aid law enforcement in conducting surveillance and investigations. Although VPN users currently face no direct penalties for accessing blocked content, the new directive could change that swiftly.

While the Kremlin emphasizes cybersecurity and moral grounds for its initiatives, these measures deepen concerns about online surveillance in Russia. For VPN providers, the pressure mounts as their services face technical and regulatory constraints.

Recommendations​

Internet users in Russia who want to freely access any online portal have an ever-decreasing number of options left. Their best bet would be reliable VPN providers who follow advanced traffic masking mechanisms, consider multi-hop VPNs that will obscure the source IP, and explore Tor or other peer-to-peer networks that provide higher levels of anonymity.

 

[Aleeyen]

This decision should be PUT IN garbage.

 

[nickstar1]

I bet you mullvad users are safe they have one of the best services!

 

[CyberDevil]

I bet you mullvad users are safe they have one of the best services!

Mullvad uses the OpenVPN and Wireguard protocols. Both of these protocols are easily detected in the traffic (the fact of using VPN and very easily blocked (Mullvad has not been working in Russia for a long time). Mullvad is not suitable at all for countries with a high level of censorship and risk of prosecution, such as China, Iran, Russia .... The most powerful protocols to bypass censorship are AmneziaWG, XRay Reality, ShadowSocks. The best protocol to hide the fact of using a VPN is XRay Reality, as far as I know, but I am not an expert.

 

[TairikuOkami]

So Russia follows US example, a decade late, but still. It figures, they all work for the same guy, they just pretend to hate each other. The whole world is his stage. Telegram follows.

 

[CyberDevil]

So Russia follows US example, a decade late, but still. It figures, they all work for the same guy, they just pretend to hate each other. The whole world is his stage. Telegram follows.

In our countries (countries of the conventional Western world) it is still possible at least to go to Twitter or Bluesky and discuss what to do or what not to do. I can freely say in my country that my country is doing some crime (this is purely an example outside the real world and politics) and nothing will happen to me, as I believe in the USA and Slovakia. However, in Russia the situation is much worse. Any negative assessment of the Russian army's actions === prison, any publication of events inside the country in a context disapproved by the authorities === prosecution and arrest. My personal humble opinion is that blocking propaganda does not violate freedom of speech, as long as we have the freedom I wrote about above. After all, aggressive regimes benefit from the freedom to spread their narratives far more than democratic regimes.

 

[omidomi]

In our countries (countries of the conventional Western world) it is still possible at least to go to Twitter or Bluesky and discuss what to do or what not to do. I can freely say in my country that my country is doing some crime (this is purely an example outside the real world and politics) and nothing will happen to me, as I believe in the USA and Slovakia. However, in Russia the situation is much worse. Any negative assessment of the Russian army's actions === prison, any publication of events inside the country in a context disapproved by the authorities === prosecution and arrest. My personal humble opinion is that blocking propaganda does not violate freedom of speech, as long as we have the freedom I wrote about above. After all, aggressive regimes benefit from the freedom to spread their narratives far more than democratic regimes.

For sure , in many dictator regimes , they use your data for EXECUTE you ( just a word may caused arrested people to long jail with aggressive torture) , people in West do't believe it buts its a real in all dictator regimes ....

 

[bazang]

Mullvad uses the OpenVPN and Wireguard protocols. Both of these protocols are easily detected in the traffic (the fact of using VPN and very easily blocked (Mullvad has not been working in Russia for a long time). Mullvad is not suitable at all for countries with a high level of censorship and risk of prosecution, such as China, Iran, Russia .... The most powerful protocols to bypass censorship are AmneziaWG, XRay Reality, ShadowSocks. The best protocol to hide the fact of using a VPN is XRay Reality, as far as I know, but I am not an expert.

Mullvad is worthless because it is widely blocked. Once Mullvad became popular, too many people using it killed its usefulness. More and more websites and other services are blocking Mullvad IP addresses. And Mullvad leadership will not change the way it does things - meaning no IP address rotation. So, like I said, Mullvad is worthless.

AmneziaWG, XRAY - these two are good but there is scant support and the instructions are as worthless as Mullvad. Very, very limited servers (as in 5 or less and they are all 12,000km or more away) and service provided by shady operators that might or might not respond to support requests. Basically, anyone interested needs to be able to read either Chinese, Ukranian, or Russian and then figure out 3 word sentences as instructions to figure out they have to create their own VPN servers or else find a VPN that supports those protocols.

To get better help one has to join various chat app groups all in the hopes of getting understandable help. From what I have seen, Amnezia, XRAY are for network/VPN geeks that need no instructions.

I tried both. Got nowhere with Amnezia. Got somewhere with XRAY but upload/download speeds were 5 Mbps up and down. Connections drop often. Worthless.

There is virtually no support for Windows. As usual, the vast majority of VPNs are developed for Linux users. Windows are treated as an afterthought if at all.