Russia Expands Internet Controls, Raising Surveillance and Business Disruption Risks

Russia has intensified restrictions on communications platforms, VPNs and internet infrastructure since mid-2025, increasing surveillance and operational risks for organizations with Russian exposure. Recorded Future’s Insikt Group assesses that Moscow aims to maintain global connectivity while gaining the ability to isolate Russia’s internet when desired. The measures build on data-localization requirements, communications-retention laws and state-controlled traffic filtering. Managed shutdowns are very likely testing isolation capabilities, while expanded shutdown powers and provisions to preserve essential services help limit public backlash. Technical and political constraints nevertheless make a fully sovereign internet unlikely in the near term.

Insikt Group expects authorities to prioritize platform-enforced VPN blocking and financial or practical deterrents over an immediate blanket ban on individual VPN use. Passive surveillance through Russia’s SORM interception system remains the primary near-term concern, particularly for traffic without end-to-end encryption; traffic injection through in-path TSPU filtering infrastructure is technically possible but assessed as an unlikely escalation. Amnezia VPN attributed disruptive June 2026 DDoS attacks to Roskomnadzor, but the report did not independently establish that attribution. Organizations should assess sensitive-data exposure, resilience to communications and business-application outages, and legal, supply-chain and sanctions risks associated with Russian operations.