The authorities of Kazakhstan, against the backdrop of the unrest that broke out in the country, tried to block access to the Internet point-to-point using DPI equipment (Deep Packet Inspection), which is used in Russia within the framework of the law on a sustainable Internet. About it informs Forbes, citing sources familiar with the situation.
It is noted that this information was confirmed by the technical director of Roskomsvoboda Stanislav Shakirov. “Using DPI, local authorities tried to block instant messengers and VPN protocols,” he said. However, they could not restrict access to the Internet using this technology – the country’s largest operator, Kazakhtelecom, purchased the appropriate equipment to collect analytics and prioritize traffic. The source of the publication explained that it turned out to be “not sharpened” for blocking. As a result, the authorities were forced to disconnect the network “almost manually”.
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According to the interlocutor of the edition in the operator Kcell, the National Security Committee (KNB) is engaged in blocking in Kazakhstan, and the participation of operators is not required – the Kazakhstani security forces can independently restrict their work. After the situation has returned to normal, the KNB is deciding where access to the network can be restored.
As a result of the blocking, the losses of the Kcell operator are estimated at one billion tenge (over 172 million rubles), the damage to Kazakhtelecom has yet to be assessed. Earlier, the Top10VPN portal reported that the damage to the economy of Kazakhstan due to the disconnection of the Internet amounted to $ 189 million.
On January 2, protests began in Kazakhstani cities due to the rise in gas prices for cars from 60 to 120 tenge. Later, they escalated into riots with demands for the departure of the first president of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev, from politics, for new elections and the dissolution of parliament. The most significant clashes took place in the former capital of the country, Alma-Ata.
The Law on Sustainable Internet in Russia came into effect on November 1, 2019. The authors of the initiative are senators Andrei Klishas and Lyudmila Bokova, as well as State Duma deputy Andrei Lugovoi. It was a response to America’s national cybersecurity strategy. It named Russia among the countries organizing cyberattacks.
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