SHTFPlan: The Russian military is building a huge "cloud" that will serve as a backup internet in case of war. The cloud will be ready in two years and will allow Russia to survive in wartime, even if they are completely shut down.
The new move is part of the country's ongoing modernization, according to the Daily Mail. The goal is for Russia to survive a major world war in which they will be cut off from everyone else. The Cloud of War will connect to the vast internal network of the Russian military.
German Klimenko, adviser to President Vladimir Putin on information technology, said earlier that during wartime the country can work on the already existing internal military network, called a closed data transmission segment. “Technically, we are ready for any action,” he told Russian television channel NTV back in March.
It was first revealed that the country had created an "independent Internet" late last year, and it will have to operate separately from the Domain Name System (DNS) used around the world. During a meeting of the Russian Security Council, officials discussed the initiative to create an alternative to the DNS, saying the move could protect Russia and several other countries in the event of a large-scale cyber attack. However, there are speculations that this "military cloud" could be a way for Russia to launch its own operations, Defense One reported at the time.
According to a new report, the country can even launch commercial traffic using its own internal network, aptly called the "military cloud." The Military Cloud, worth 390 million rubles ($ 6 million / £ 4.5 million), will rely on data centers across the country, and the first of these is believed to have already been completed in the Southern Military District. The creation of this first center increased the power and influence of Russia in the region. According to a Defense One report, this is an area that includes the Crimean Peninsula as well as parts of eastern Ukraine.
According to Sam Bendetta, an analyst with the nonprofit research organization CNA, Russia sees this as the key to protecting its data from Western interference. “Russia is investing in the development of military high technologies, and especially in domestic software and hardware,” he told Defense One.
“The data centers working with this cloud are made of“Russian components”. Until recently, many of the IT components in the military and civilian sectors were Western - but now this is starting to change,”he added.