Russia’s communications regulator, Roskomnadzor (RKN), announced on July 30 that data collected by the Speedtest service could be exploited to plan attacks on Russian communication networks and connected systems. The agency stated that the American company Ookla, which operates Speedtest, allegedly gathers information about the structure, capacity, and functionality of Russia’s communication network.

Roskomnadzor claims the collected data could be utilized to strategize, organize, execute, and assess the impact of attacks targeting Russian communication networks and associated systems within enterprises and organizations.

The announcement coincides with the reported blocking of the Speedtest service within the Russian Federation on July 30. Roskomnadzor attributed the decision to block access to the platform to “identified threats to the security of the public communication network and the Russian segment of the Internet.”