VPN demand in Russia surges as Russia bans social media access

MOSCOW: As Russian and Ukrainian websites fall victim to cyber attacks and Moscow restricts access to some foreign social media, internet users have turned to online tools to help circumvent the blocks.

Demand for Virtual Private Networks VPNs that encrypt data and obscure where a user is located has soared, according to data from Top 10 VPN, which was up 354 per cent higher in Russia on Sunday compared to the daily average from Feb 16 -- 23.

Russia, which calls its actions in Ukraine a special operation, invaded its neighbour on February 24, attacking from land, sea and air. It is trying to control the narrative, threatening restrictions on foreign and local media that stray from its official version of events.

Photos and videos on Facebook, owned by Meta Platforms, and Twitter were slow to load, both of which have been targeted by state communications regulator Roskomnadzor.

The Russian state of VPN demand surged as authorities stopped Facebook and Twitter over the weekend in a bid to control the flow of information from its invasion of Ukraine, Top 10 VPN said.

Russia banned several VPNs last year but hasn't blocked them entirely, as part of a wider campaign that critics say stifles internet freedom.

In Ukraine, Russian hackers were blamed for a series of cyberattacks that knocked Ukrainian banking and government websites offline days before the invasion. Russia denied involvement.

Demand for VPN in Ukraine went up dramatically on February 15 due to cyberattacks, Top 10 VPN said, and skyrocketed after the invasion, with demand peaking 424 per cent higher than the daily average in the first half of February.

On Monday, the websites of several Russian media outlets were hacked, with their regular sites replaced by an anti-war message and calls to stop Vladimir Putin's invasion.