Providers of Kazakhstan persuade customers to install a "state trusted certificate" on all devices, which will allow intercepting all encrypted traffic of the country in order to protect citizens from cyber threats and illegal content.
Kazakhstan Telecom operators have begun to notify customers about the need to install a special security certificate Qaznet on all subscriber devices with Internet access - mobile phones and tablets based on iOS/Android, personal computers and laptops based on Windows/MacOS.
The message on the website of the Kcell provider states that the certificate recommended for installation "was developed in Kazakhstan and provided by the authorized state body" and "will allow protecting Kazakhstani Internet users from hacker attacks and viewing illegal content". However, it can be assumed that such opportunities can be used by the authorities of Kazakhstan to gain access to information that citizens exchange via the Internet.
Users are invited to download the certificate from the website qca.kz. This domain name is registered to an individual Askar Dyussekeyev. The address of the owner is the same as the address of the Ministry of Digital Development, Innovation and Aerospace Industry of Kazakhstan.
Telecom operators warn that if the certificate is absent, then customers may encounter problems accessing certain Internet resources.
Indeed, according to some users from the capital of Kazakhstan, it is impossible to access sites that force the use of the secure HTTPS protocol using the HSTS mechanism without installing a certificate. Such sites are now the majority.
According to Shavkat Sabirov, the President of the Internet Association of Kazakhstan, there is a global problem in the world related to the safe use of the Internet.
"All the experiments that were associated with the installation of root certificates failed. All over the world, it is already recognized that this is an unsuccessful and even a terrible attempt to work in a safe mode. If this certificate is stolen or hacked, the attackers will get absolutely all the information about users data that use this certificate," said the president of the Internet Association of Kazakhstan.
The President of the Internet Association of Kazakhstan noted that companies that provide services on the Internet with the security certificate should take responsibility for its use.
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