Once you plan to create and run your very own website, the easiest part of the entire procedure is perhaps the procurement of a domain name, anywhere in the world. All you have to do is to provide your credit card details along with a little bit of more information and you’ve got yourself a brand new domain name. However, Russia on the other hand has decided to crack down on the use of the .ru domain, that is intended to provide a safer and cleaner cyberspace for the users.

As per the policies adopted by the Russian authorities, any and all users who wish to acquire a .ru domain, would in fact have to provide a copy of their passport and if they intend to use the domain for business purposes, then they would have to show legal registration papers. The move is being viewed as an attempt by Russia to clean the cyberspace and bring it closers to the international standards.

Cyber criminals spammers, scammers and owners of pornographic websites have long been able to circumvent the lapses in domain registration security and thus manage to run their illegal activities by hiding their identities. However, this latest move would definitely help Russian authorities in preventing the creation of illegal websites and furthermore, they would also be able to track the domain name owners with the help of the identification papers.

According to Rodney Joffe (Chief Technologist, Neustar),

“It’s pushing the malicious activity elsewhere. If it’s so much of a hassle, they’ll say, ‘Screw it. I’m going to register another top-level domain.’”

Via Computer World