While access to SNS and foreign media sites is restricted in Russia, there is a growing movement among citizens to connect to the Internet using a service called "VPN" that encrypts communication and avoids censorship. increase.
Of these, the service provided free of charge by the University of Tsukuba in Japan has seen a sharp increase in the number of users in Russia since last month, and last month it was used by more than 1.2 million people, eight times the average until February. I found out.
"VPN" = Virtual private network is a technology that builds an encrypted communication line in a virtual space.
Encrypted lines are considered to be highly confidential and are used for remote connections that connect to internal systems from the outside. In addition, they have been used worldwide for the purpose of avoiding censorship of the Internet by governments and others.
In Russia, SNS such as Twitter and Facebook as well as websites of foreign media are no longer seen, but this is called "firewall" so that communications are censored in Russia and you can not access specific sites. It is believed that the "wall" is created.
Under these circumstances, the use of services using a technology called "VPN" that encrypts communication and connects it to overseas servers to avoid censorship is spreading.
Of these, one of the VPNs used all over the world, the software called "VPN Gate" provided by the University of Tsukuba in Japan has been in Russia since the invasion of Ukraine in late February. The number of users is increasing rapidly.
This service was developed as an academic experiment by a visiting professor at the University of Tsukuba from 2013, and anyone can use the software for free.
After encrypting the communication, the website is accessed via up to 8000 servers provided by volunteers all over the world. If you choose a server from Russia or abroad, you can freely use the website. You can see it.
According to Mr. Noboru, the average number of users in Russia was about 150,000 a month until February, but since the invasion of Ukraine, the number of users has increased rapidly, and March is 1.15 million. There are more than 1.23 million people in April, which is about eight times as many.
In particular, the cases of using smartphones are conspicuous, and Mr. Noboru said, "Rather than being used professionally, ordinary citizens access foreign pages for daily life, economic activities, academics, etc." I think I'm using it when I do it. I'm very happy that Japanese technology is useful. "
Mr. Noboru said that VPN technology is used as a means to obtain accurate information. "There are forces trying to regulate communications in various countries and regions of the world, but people in those countries are free to study. You need access to various websites to browse information, such as wanting to use a VPN or reading news necessary for discussion. Japan and other countries with engineers who have learned programming and communication knowledge do this. I think we have a responsibility to provide the technology that makes it possible. "
On top of that, "the knowledge and information necessary for academics, research, and business can be obtained without censorship. When, who viewed which site, and without being monitored by the government. This is achieved. I want you to use it a lot for that purpose. "