New Surveillance Law in Russia Opens Up Messaging App Backdoors

New York, New York, July 11, 2016 (Newswire.com) - The Russian President signed a controversial “anti-terrorism” bill into law last week. The law makes cryptographic backdoors mandatory in all messaging apps, resulting in a one of most massive surveillance laws anywhere.

The law requires Telecom and Internet companies to record and store all client communications for six months, resulting in trillions of dollars in costs. Internet companies will also have to provide a mandatory backdoor access into encrypted communications.

VPNs provide online security by encrypting all data shared between the Internet and the user's system, so the data cannot be compromised, and all browsing activity remains anonymous.

Marty P. Kamden, CMO

FSB is the Russian intelligence agency that will have free access to Russians’ communication records.

Opening a backdoor to an encrypted device for government to access people’s communication data is a dangerous step that will make everyone’s online activity vulnerable, as the ‘keys’ to the door can easily be lost or shared and can easily fall into the hands of hackers, fraudsters, system dysfunctions and so on. In addition, being monitored in Russia also means the possibility of getting penalized or even arrested for saying something the government might not like.

Russia has already passed a bill that requires mobile phone conversations and citizens’ Internet activity to be stored for as much as three years. The country also has a long list of blacklisted websites, and monitors social media websites, arresting people for posting their political views online (NY Post).

A rising numbers of Russians are using such tools as VPNs (Virtual Private Networks), as their concern for privacy increases.

NordVPN, a VPN service provider, has seen a spike in users from Russia last year after the RUTracker website was banned, and expects for this number to keep rising.

VPNs provide online security by encrypting all data shared between the Internet and the user’s system, so the data cannot be compromised, and all browsing activity remains anonymous. NordVPN is one of the most advanced VPN service providers in the world with a strict no-log policy, offering six-device connectivity under one account.

NordVPN stands for digital freedom and free speech, and offers free emergency encryption to those who are in dire need of internet privacy or security. 

Source: NordVPN