The Kremlin’s ban on VPNs is less about national security than self preservation. Pixabay By Andrei Soldatov, for The Moscow Times Putin went after technology last week and it probably won’t end well. The ban on Virtual Private Networks (VPNs), along with the move to de-anonymize messengers, are designed to weaken advanced internet technology that protects against government intrusion online. The amendments signed by Putin have two aims: Тo make it impossible to access blocked websites using VPNs, which helps users hide their identity online, and to make it possible for the Russian secret services to immediately identify users on instant messengers. There were three ways the government could have gone about this. First, it could have invested in new surveillance technology. But that would have meant committing to a desperate game of technological catch-up with the developers of tools designed to circumvent restrictive measures, in order to try to decipher their techniques. Second,
Kilde: Andrei Soldatov: The Kremlin’s VPN ban has KGB roots (Op-ed)