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A cell phone user with a smartphone (symbolic image): Massive problems on the Russian Internet for hours
Photo:
Frank Rumpenhorst/dpa
Millions of internet users were unable to access the Russian internet on Tuesday. Users in the Russian capital Moscow reported that their banking apps did not work, but service portals, social networks and news sites were also unavailable. The Ministry of Digitalization announced in the evening that the technical problems had been resolved.
A specific reason for the breakdown was not given. The ministry simply stated that a technical problem affected the .ru zone “related to the global DNSSEC infrastructure.”
Experts had repeatedly warned that the creation of an independent Russian Internet, ordered by Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin, would lead to failures. It is also planned to transfer all Russian Internet users to a national DNS server. Independent experts attributed the serious breakdown at the end of the month to these government interventions.
Media last reported internet problems in some parts of Russia's far east on January 24th. Accordingly, there were problems with using the social networks WhatsApp and Telegram for days. In other regions, the authorities announced that the mobile Internet would be switched off at night due to technical work. According to a report in the Kommersant newspaper, it could be work to improve air defense to protect against Ukrainian drone attacks.
In the capital Moscow, disoriented taxi drivers repeatedly complain about navigation systems not working properly. But there are also many direct blocks of internet portals. Russian authorities have blocked thousands of websites with unwanted content. They are only accessible via protected connections via VPN servers.
sol/dpa