Internet - The Times Of Central Asia

Viewing results 1 - 6 of 64

Kyrgyzstan to Impose Fines for Online Insult and Libel

The Jogorku Kenesh, Kyrgyzstan’s parliament, has approved a bill in its second reading to impose fines for insult and libel on the Internet. Initially criticized for its steep penalties, the fines have been reduced fivefold following public backlash. The bill was first introduced to the parliamentary committee in June. Public dissatisfaction arose over the high penalties it proposed, which included fines of 100,000 KGS ($1,200) for individuals and 200,000 KGS ($2,400) for legal entities. Kyrgyz Ombudsman Jamilya Dzhamanbaeva was among the first to voice opposition, arguing that the fines were “unreasonably high” and violated the principle of proportionality. Media representatives also demanded public consultations, emphasizing that laws affecting citizens' rights and media freedom require parliamentary hearings under Article 115 of Kyrgyz law. Responding to the widespread criticism, lawmakers amended the bill to reduce the fines by 80%. “It is every citizen's absolute right to criticize the authorities. But every criticism must have a ‘red line’ that no one is allowed to cross. Constructive criticism should never be perceived as an offense by government bodies,” said social activist Alisher Tashmatov, speaking to The Times of Central Asia. Tashmatov supported the need for libel laws, pointing out that false information, particularly targeting high-ranking officials during election seasons, is a growing concern in Kyrgyzstan. Guli Almambetova, former head of the Bishkek City Hall press service, shared her perspective, having faced numerous online insults during her tenure. While unpleasant, she said such criticism often provided valuable insights into municipal shortcomings. “This kind of unflattering feedback helped us analyze the performance of city services and address specific issues,” Almambetova explained. Known for her blunt social media commentary, she also acknowledged that her sharp exchanges with citizens spurred her to establish press services within municipal agencies to handle complaints more constructively. Almambetova stressed the importance of balancing responsibility and freedom of expression: “A system of accountability for one’s words is essential. Citizens should channel their grievances about poor public service through proper contacts. That’s how we grow as a society and find the balance between insult and constructive criticism.” Until such a balance is achieved, however, the state is adopting stricter measures to curb online hostilities toward public officials and institutions.

New Satellite Internet May Appear in Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan plans to agree with Amazon to use "Project Kuiper" satellite internet, a competitor to Elon Musk's well-known Starlink. Minister of Digital Development, Innovation, and Aerospace Industry Zhaslan Madiev said the agreement was signed during the Asia-Pacific Conference on Digital Transformation, which will be organized by UNESCAP in Astana. Madiev emphasized that competition between satellite providers will improve the quality of internet services for citizens at an affordable price. Amazon began deploying the Project Kuiper network by launching the first two prototype satellites last year. More than 3,200 satellites are planned to be deployed in the future, but a full-fledged launch has been delayed until the end of 2024. Kazakh Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov, who participated in the conference, also said that the 5G network will cover all regional centers of Kazakhstan by the end of 2025. A Starlink pilot project was also launched in Kazakhstan; under this project, Starlink internet will be available to two thousand remote rural schools.

Kazakhstan to Establish 5G Mobile Coverage by 2026

On June 18, Kazakhstan’s Minister of Digital Development, Innovation and Aerospace Industry Zhaslan Madiev updated the government on progress on improvements to the country’s Internet and mobile communication. International data indicates that the share of the population using the Internet in Kazakhstan is now on par with that of developed countries. Traffic growth has increased by 61.5% since 2020, and the number of users, by 12.9%. According to Speedtest Ookla, in April 2024, Kazakhstan ranked 66th with an average Internet speed of 43.6 Mbps, higher than Russia, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan. Wired Internet is currently available in 2,606 of Kazakhstan’s 6,290 villages, with plans in place to connect optical communication lines through the PPP mechanism to 3,010 villages. Mobile Internet is now accessible in 4,866 villages. As part of tax incentives in 2023, 1,161 villages were connected to 4G technology. Work to connect the remaining 1,424 villages is ongoing. Regarding the further development of 5G technology, operators Kcell and Tele2 will continue work to expand 5G coverage in the cities of Astana, Almaty, Shymkent, as well as regional centres. To date, 1,144 base stations have been installed in 20 cities. “In accordance with instructions issued by the Head of State, the introduction of 5G mobile communications should be completed before the end of 2025,” reported the minister. Madiev then outlined the three steps required to develop the Digital Silk Road and turn Kazakhstan into a regional digital hub. The first is to lay a 370-kilometer fiber-optic line along the bed of the Caspian Sea with investment by telecom operators in Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan amounting to more than 23 billion tenge. A joint venture has been created between Kazakhtelecom JSC and Azertelecom LLC, and a tender to select a contractor for the design and installation of an underwater fibre-optic line is underway. The second is the construction of the national West-East Internet hyper highway, which will increase Internet transit traffic across Kazakhstan. The final step is the construction of a data processing centre, no lower than Tier-III level, for storing transit and international traffic.

Large-Scale Cyberattacks on Kazakhstan Continue

Leaks of millions of citizens data, attacks by hackers, hourly calls from fraudsters - these are just some of the threats which have faced Kazakhstan over the past few months. Following the resignation – or dismissal depending on which source one believes - of the head of the Ministry of Digital Development, Innovation and the Aerospace Industry, Bagdat Mussin, many wonder whether the authorities will be able to secure Kazakhstan's internet. The Times of Central Asia investigates. On May 9, AlmaTV, Kazakhstan’s largest internet and cable TV provider, suffered an attack by hackers which caused disruption to its’ services. “According to data received… the cause of the disruption was a large-scale and multi-level cyberattack," AlmaTV stated. The outage solely affected internet broadcasting, whilst analog, digital and satellite TV services were working normally. According to numerous sources, the broadcast of the Victory Day military parade in Moscow was interrupted by footage of an anti-Russian nature, alleged torture, and other explicit content. Officials in Kazakhstan have yet to commented. This is not the first scandal in the sphere of cybersecurity. In March of this year, the State Technical Service JSC discovered that personal data pertaining to over two million clients of the microfinance organization, zaimer.kz (MFO Robocash.kz LLP), had been compromised. Warnings about the leak were also received by people who had never used the company’s services. In the opinion of many analysts, the reaction of the Ministry of Digital Development, Innovations and the Aerospace Industry was extremely late in coming, extremely vague, and in no way reassured Kazakhstanis about the safety of their private information. Mussin was accused of making excuses, poor-quality communication, failing to answer questions, and “babble talk.” In addition, back in February, foreign media, in particular CyberNews, reported that in leaked Chinese Government documents, data belonging to residents of Kazakhstan was found. The documents were related to spyware developed by the Chinese information security company, iSoon, and targeted social media platforms, telecommunications companies, and other such organizations. Allegedly, unknown assailants have posted a huge number of PRC government documents on GitHub. The information circulated also revealed sensitive data pertaining to several telecom operators in Kazakhstan. Also in February, a shocking statement by the Center for Analysis and Investigation of Cyberattacks (TSARKA) appeared, according to which a Chinese hacker group controlled the critical facets within Kazakhstan's IT infrastructure for almost two years. “On February 16, 2024, unknown persons published on the GitHub resource a leak of secret data from the Chinese company iSoon (aka Anxun), one of the contractors of the Chinese Ministry of Public Security (MPS). It is reported to be associated with Chengdu 404, a structure controlled by Chinese cyber intelligence known as APT41,” TSARKA said. “The attackers’ goal was both general information, such as databases, and targeted information of specific individuals: control of correspondence, calls and movement. Data analysis showed that the volume of stolen information is measured in terabytes.” The hackers managed to gain control over the event logs, call durations, IMEIs of devices, and...

Satellite Internet Connection to Start Working in Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan's Ministry of Digital Development says that work has been completed on an interface station for the OneWeb non-geostationary communication network at the Kokterek Space Services Center. Officials expect to achieve technical readiness to provide commercial services this year. Work is also continuing on infrastructure at the Spacecraft Assembly and Test Complex in Astana. A project to build a constellation of medium-resolution satellites for remote sensing of the Earth has also been launched, with plans to replace the current KazEOSat-2. This new equipment will be used in various fields, including agriculture, emergency management and sustainable use of natural resources. EutelSat OneWeb is a unit of the EutelSat Group that provides broadband internet access using low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites. It was founded in 2012. At different times, Airbus, Qualcomm, Virgin Group and others have acted as investors in the company. In the spring of 2020, OneWeb filed for bankruptcy because it failed to agree with Japan's Softbank on a round of financing totaling $2 billion. Later, the company was saved by the British government, India's Bharti Global and EutelSat, before the latter company merged with OneWeb in September of 2023. It has been reported that villages in Kazakhstan have gained access to satellite internet from Starlink, one of Elon Musk's companies. Over 170 rural settlements are connected to the KazSat network, which provides broadband access to more than 17,000 people. The initiator of the joint project, minister of digital development Bagdat Musin, was fired on April 30 amid a scandal involving the leak of personal data of Kazakh citizens.

Starlink Close to Providing Internet Access in Remote Parts of Kyrgyzstan

Representatives of Kyrgyzstan's ministry of digital development have met again with the American company Starlink, with a view to bringing satellite internet access to the country. However, there are still regulatory hurdles in Kyrgyzstan that hinder the development of Starlink technology. Elon Musk's aerospace company SpaceX first entered the Kyrgyz market in 2021, and a subsidiary company named Starlink KG was registered. However, the first attempts at cooperation were unsuccessful, as the Kyrgyz authorities refused to allocate the necessary radio frequencies without a tender process. Starlink KG received a license for its operations only at the end of last year. Nevertheless, Starlink remains willing to work with Kyrgyzstan, one of its directors Rebecca Hunter meeting recently with the Kyrgyz ambassador to the U.S. and Canada Baktybek Amanbaev to discuss this issue. Last year, deputy chairman of the cabinet Edil Baisalov also spoke with representatives from Starlink. They discussed the possibility of using this company's technology to deploy satellite internet in Kyrgyzstan's mountainous regions, particularly in remote schools.