Domestic Internet of Russia, Iran Far Deeper Kind of Fragmentation, More Physical Than Seen Before

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Domestic Internet of Russia, Iran Far Deeper Kind of Fragmentation, More Physical Than Seen Before

By CircleID Reporter
June 06, 2019, 7:52 pm PDT Views: 9,817 Add Comment

The internet fragmentation practiced by various countries have, for the most part, been alternations to the information flows on top of the internet architecture, not the architecture itself. China, for instance, still relies on the global DNS and is yet to unplug from major internet exchange points. “Russia and Iran, however, are spearheading something different,” writes WIRED’s Justin Sherman. Their pursuit for internet fragmentation goes far deeper he warns. Two key takeaways from the article:

— Less reversible and more powerful: “Russia and Iran’s decisions to build isolated, domestic internets represent a new form of internet fragmentation—one poised to be far more physical than what we’ve seen before.” Circumvention tools will be far less viable.

— Influence on other countries: “Governments looking to exert even greater control over their citizens online—such as through limiting the effectiveness of censorship bypass tools—may want to pursue this deeper form of internet fragmentation.”

By CircleID Reporter

CircleID’s internal staff reporting on news tips and developing stories. Do you have information the professional Internet community should be aware of? Contact us.

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