Russian Regulator Reportedly Blocks 36,000 Websites That Link To VPNs, As Usage Is Up 3,500 Percent
The block on social media platforms in Russia has seen a massive surge in VPN usage.
You Are Reading :Russian Regulator Reportedly Blocks 36000 Websites That Link To VPNs As Usage Is Up 3500 Percent
Russia’s barbaric invasion of Ukraine has resulted in major sanctions being levied upon the country. Everyone from video game developers, publishers, manufacturers, and even content streaming services have suspended all sales and operations in Russia as part of the sanctions, as well as in solidarity with Ukraine.
The Russian government itself has blocked access to social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram in an attempt to prevent its citizens from seeing how the world has reacted to the events, and also in order to curb pro-Ukraine communication. This means that piracy and VPNs remain the only way Russian citizens can gain access to social media and content streaming. All of this has resulted in a 3500 percent surge in the use of VPNs in the country, claims Lithuania based cybersecurity company, Surfshark.
The company further claims that this has resulted in the Russian telecom authorities blocking over 36,000 VPN related sites in the past month. The last time Surfshark noted such a major spike in VPN sales was in May 2020, when China passed the Hong Kong Security Law. While the surge wasn’t nearly as high as the one experienced in Russia, the number of VPN related sales went up by 700 percent.
While these sanctions have been put in place to oppose the Russian government’s actions, Valve has decided to halt payments to some Ukrainian developers as well. Developers took to social media to share a letter from Valve, which stated, “Your banking information has been deactivated for the following reason: Due to the current environment, we are unable to send bank payments to Belarus, Russia and Ukraine.”
It was later found that the email template that was being shared wasn’t the full thing, and that the user was asked to “correct [their] bank information as soon as possible” in order to continue receiving payments from Valve. Theories have suggested that these Ukrainian developers might have been using Russian banks, which have been targeted by sanctions.
For more information on the conflict, and for ways in which you can help the people of Ukraine, you can view the resources put together here.
Link Source : https://www.thegamer.com/russia-blocks-36000-websites-vpn-usage-up-3500-percent/