A separate
Internet: The MIT
Technology Review looks at the implications of Russia’s test to
cut itself off from the rest of the Internet, scheduled for early April. The
shutdown is a test of an Internet sovereignty law being considered in Russia,
but it’s unclear how the country will actually accomplish the disconnect.

Clamping
down: Egypt is cracking down on fake news with new rules that critics
say are meant to curb dissent and restrict information the government believe
is a threat to national security, The Hill
reports. The country’s Supreme Media Regulatory Council can now
block websites and some social media accounts with more than 5,000 followers
for what it believes is “fake news” and can fine operators up to US$14,400
without getting a court order. Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir
Putin has signed two bills that critics say amount to censorship, Ars
Technica says. One bill allows stiff fines for disseminating what the
government determines is fake news, and the second allows fines and jail time
for insulting government officials, including Putin.

Encrypting the IoT: The U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology is looking at encryption methods to protect the Internet of Things and other computing devices against future encryption-cracking technologies, GCN.com reports. Over the past year, NIST has been evaluating 69 algorithms for its Post Quantum Cryptography Standardization program.

No
encryption here: Facebook has stored millions of user passwords
in plain text, meaning without using encryption, in some cases, going back to
2012, Krebs on
Security reports. An internal Facebook investigation indicated
that between 200 million and 600 million Facebook users may have had their
account passwords stored in plain text and searchable the social network’s employees.

Better
than nothing: In parts of Africa, nations are embracing networks created with
technology from Chinese telecommunications company Huawei, despite U.S.
concerns about the provider’s links to the Chinese government, Foreign
Policy says. In many cases, Huawei is the only option. “While concerns about
Huawei are shared by other countries around the world, in Africa they are
largely overshadowed by the imperative for greater Internet access,” the story
says.

Artificial music: Google’s Doodle on March 21 included an Artificial Intelligence-powered game that allowed users to create music that mimicked the compositional style of composer Johann Sebastian Bach, Phys.org notes. March 21 was Bach’s birthday under the old Julian calendar.

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The post The Week in Internet News: Russia Moves Toward Test of Internet Disconnect appeared first on Internet Society.