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Russia is blocking access to ProtonMail on claims hackers have been using the encrypted email service to send out fake bomb threats.
According to Russia's Federal Security Service, the hackers were abusing ProtonMail to send out messages about bombing 830 locations, including schools, hospitals, and shopping centers. However, all the threats have been discovered to be false.
The mysterious culprits have been sending out the fake bomb threats since November. Originally, the messages were coming from the Dutch encrypted email service Startmail.com, but then last Friday the hackers switched to using the Switzerland-based ProtonMail service.
According to Russian telecommunications regulator Roskomnadzor, government agents reached out to ProtonMail about stopping the bomb threats, but the email provider refused to supply information. So in response, the regulator settled on a ban to prevent the hackers from stirring up panic in the country.
(1/2) The Russian government has blocked ProtonMail and ProtonVPN within Russia. We are reaching out to the appropriate authorities to get the block lifted as soon as possible. https://t.co/luTY27FQK4 — ProtonMail (@ProtonMail) January 29, 2020
However, ProtonMail claims it never received any communications from Russian authorities about stopping the bomb threats. "We are reaching out to the appropriate authorities to get the block lifted as soon as possible," the email provider said in a statement.
ProtonMail is also questioning the point of blocking the email service when the hackers can simply switch to another provider. "The cybercriminals will also likely be able to bypass the block using one of many VPN services. However, it does deny regular law abiding citizens of Russia access to our secure email service. The main impact of this block will be to limit the Russian people's access to privacy. We condemn this block as a misguided measure which only serves to harm ordinary people," ProtonMail added.
Today's blocking has also ensnared ProtonVPN users. In the meantime, the email provider is recommending affected customers get around the blocking by using the Tor browser, which can bypass government censorship attempts.
Another solution is to use a separate paid VPN provider. However, Russia has also been cracking down on popular VPN services that refuse to comply with the government's censorship demands. In addition, the government has been laying the foundation to serve up a walled-off version of the web to the country's citizens in another apparent censorship attempt.