Government Panic Button for Internet Isolation

Russia moves forward with the recently approved “Sovereign Internet” law that will enable the government to disconnect the nation’s networks from the main Internet in times of a security emergency. In theory, Russia would be able to operate independently from the rest of the World Wide Web.   

There are plenty of criticisms and concerns that Moscow is further clamping down on free speech and looking to control the flow of data to its citizens.    

We may scoff at this directive, but there is a good chance that many more countries will be doing something similar in the future.    

Having a red-button that disconnects you from the main Internet, could help slow down a major attack, data exfiltration, and remote-control activities, therefore would be a handy tool as we look into the evolution of nation-state hacking. Also expect more countries establishing what amounts to massive firewalls for ingress and egress of traffic, to better mitigate the risks of foreign attack in cyberspace.    

Although I am not a pundit with regards to the politics behind such controls, I can see the risk management benefits for nations looking to proactively protect their digital interests and assets from external manipulations.