Putin Gives Federal Security Agents Two Weeks To Produce 'Encryption Keys' For The Internet (gawker.com)

An anonymous reader writes: The President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, has ordered the Federal Security Service (FSB) to produce "encryption keys" to decrypt all data on the internet, and the FSB has two weeks to do it, Meduza reports. The head of the FSB, Alexander Bortnikov, is responsible for accomplishing such a task. "The new 'anti-terrorist' laws require all 'organizers of information distribution' that add 'additional coding' to transmitted electronic messages to provide the FSB with any information necessary to decrypt those messages," reports Meduza. "It's still unclear what information exactly online resources are expected to turn over, given that all data on the internet is encoded, one way or another, and in many instances encryption keys for encrypted information simply don't exist." Some of the details of the executive order include requiring telecom providers and "organizers of information distribution" to store copies of the content of all information they transmit for six months and store the metadata for three years so the Kremlin can access it whenever they want. In order for that to happen, ISPs would need to build new data centers capable of holding all that information and buy imported equipment, all without state subsidies, where they risk going bankrupt. To actually operate the data centers, the Russian government would need to upgrade Russia's outdated electrical grid and cables, which could cost between $30 and $77 billion. What about the "encryption keys?" In addition to storing all the transmitted information, "organizers of information distribution" have to turn over "any information necessary to decrypt those messages." Therefore, "additional coding" will need to be added to all electronic messages to act as instructions for the FSB to "decode" them. Many services and websites don't have "keys" or are fundamentally unsharable, like banks and financial institutions. Nearly all electronic information needs to be "encoded" in some way. Bortnikov has two weeks and the clock starts now. Good luck!

Comments

Vlad, the Internet Impaler

[roman_mir]

Putin and his very small hands... He wants 'the Internet encryption keys' in his small hands.

OK, so that is funny. But consider that in the last year Putin increased the police force by a large number in Russia and he signed a law that would require the country to build him his own 'national guard', everybody sees it the same way: he is scared of a coup and he wants his own army around him at all times. Him and his small hands, he is scared to be overthrown and as a KGB operative he knows that he can be overthrown and he decides he needs a couple hundred thousand body guards.

This move against encryption of all sorts is based on the same fear. He is scared of everything, scared he will not find out about a gathering of people somewhere and won't jail them in time before they make it to any news that still exists (and journalism is the most dangerous activity in that country, journalists murdered and beaten by the government). He is afraid to end up in the same way Quadaffi and Hussein ended up in. He should be scared, people are very tired of him. The majority of people in Russia wouldn't move a finger to get ridbof him, but it doesn't take a majority, only a few determined people and that is what he is afraid of most.

Needless to say there are other business interests that are government owned and that would love to have access to all communications that would prevent any competition against them.

Also FSB has their google like search servers installed at every ISP and every communications company in Russia, searching for stuff and recording what matches specific parameters, but the new law also imposes an obligation to all communications companoes to record all traffic and all communications for a minimum of 6 months.

The companies are saying this will cost them billions and will cause rate hikes, the government officials are replying that is nonsense, it will cost nothing and any rate hike because of it would be a money grab. Right, because it costs nothing to record 6 months of internet traffic.

As to this requirement to the FSB to get all of the encryption keys, I wonder who Putin wants to fire 2 weeks from now, because it sounds like an old Russian fairy tale of a tsar telling his servant to go some place that cannot ne found and to get him something that does not exist and if he fails to deliver his head is coming off...