Russians are losing one of the few remaining VPN services available to them in the country.
As BleepingComputer reports, Kaspersky announced that the Kaspersky Secure Connection VPN service is being shut down in the Russian Federation. The free version will stop working on Nov. 15, and the premium version will only remain available until December.
Anyone in Russia who paid for the service will continue to have access until their subscription period runs out, or until the end of 2023. It means Kaspersky could see a huge jump in new subscriptions before the end of December as Russians eager to protect their online privacy sign up for a one-year subscription while they still can.
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Kaspersky hasn't explained why it took the decision to shut down the service. BleepingComputer suggests it may be due to mounting pressure from the Russian government, which has been cracking down on the use of VPNs recently. For example, last week, the Ministry of Digital Transformation required all state-owned companies to share details of the VPN services they use.
Telecommunications watchdog Roskomnadzor banned many popular VPN services in the country last year, and the war with Ukraine has led to severe government censorship. That, combined with a need for secure communications, meant even Russian officials have spent millions on VPN services this year. VPN app downloads among Russian consumers also increased by 1,200% back in March.