Let's Encrypt and ZeroSSL Block Free SSL for Russian Domains
Oh, the glorious isolation of the digital swamp! Let's Encrypt and ZeroSSL are finally turning off the free security valve for Russian domains, proving that even mathematical keys have a limit to their tolerance. Let the HTTP era begin anew over there!
The popular non-profit certificate authority Let's Encrypt updated its subscriber agreement to version 1.7. This legal document quietly introduced clauses that effectively forbid the issuance and renewal of SSL certificates for .RU and .SU domains.
Because nothing says "sovereign internet" quite like having your browser constantly scream that your local government website is trying to steal your password.
To make matters even more entertaining for the local sysadmins, another major free provider, ZeroSSL, decided not to stand on the sidelines and joined the party by implementing similar restrictions. For years, these two services have been the default choice for millions of websites worldwide, allowing anyone to secure their traffic with a single console command.
Now, Russian webmasters will have to either pay actual money to questionable local registrars or go back to the mid-2000s, explaining to users why a giant red warning screen is actually a sign of patriotic digital security.
The update was officially published on June 4, 2026, leaving local companies with a very short window to figure out how to keep their green padlocks alive without Western technology.
The illusion of a borderless internet is officially dead, buried under a mountain of compliance paperwork. It turns out that open-source and free-for-all initiatives still have to obey the physical laws of global politics, leaving an entire national segment of the web to face the cold, unencrypted reality of self-signed chaos.
Source: Let's Encrypt
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