Cyber warfare against Russia? SSL Certificates of Many Government, Media Websites Revoked

Following days of no access to certain Russian websites due to revocation of their security certificates or SSL by foreign certification agencies, Moscow is considering installing its security certificates.

The Russian Ministry of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media has recommended installing its security certificates to access Russian resources through foreign browsers. This was reported on the ministry's official website.

The agency warned that if foreign SSL certificates are revoked, some Russian websites may not open correctly in foreign browsers such as Chrome, Safari, and Edge. Therefore, the agency urged users to install Russian certificates.

The Ministry of Digital Development emphasized that this will help maintain secure access to Russian websites, online stores, banks, marketplaces, and other resources. It is noted that the Yandex browser already has a Russian security certificate built into it.

The agency's publication states that certificates can be downloaded and installation instructions can be found on the Gosuslugi portal. It emphasizes that the installation is safe and does not affect the operation of the computer or device.

The situation is related to the revocation of SSL certificates by foreign certification authorities. As a result, when attempting to access domestic resources through foreign browsers, one may encounter connection errors or warnings about a supposedly "insecure connection."

Normally SSL certificates have to be purchased by website owners which guarantees that the websites are free form malware or virus that can harm the users’ computer and data.