Bangladeshis are increasingly using VPN services to evade government censorship and surveillance, a recent report found.
Sheikh Hasina, the authoritarian Prime Minister of Bangladesh, has shut off Bangladeshis’ ability to communicate with the outside world amidst a brutal crackdown against protestors. Internet, cell service, and even many landlines are not operable.
Despite the severe penalties associated with unauthorized internet use, many Bangladeshis use virtual private networks (VPNs) to access global content and communicate more freely.
Journalists and citizens are arrested and put behind bars for sharing a newspaper report about a dead goat on his Facebook page. But this is a reality in Bangladesh, thanks to the arbitrary abuse of a draconian cyber law to muzzle dissenting voices and harass opponents.
In the proposed law, law enforcement authorities are given arbitrary power to arrest any person on suspicion that he or she has committed or is committing an offence. They can also search any digital device on suspicion that evidence of offences committed may be erased, tampered with or changed if there is a delay in taking action. If they deem fit, they can also confiscate any digital device allegedly being used to commit the offence.
The exercise of these arbitrary powers depends entirely on the “belief” of the authorities. Law enforcement authorities also have the power to ask the Bangladesh Telecommunications Regulatory Commission to block or remove any content from digital devices if they consider it a threat to national security, the economy, public order or religious sentiments. The commission must act upon the authorities’ request.
The Insikt Group’s analysis, published by Recorded Future, a security company, also revealed that citizens had begun frequently using devices from international tech companies Apple, Samsung, and Huawei to engage in activities such as browsing social media and streaming content that the government would otherwise restrict.
“Over the years, we saw an increase in obfuscation services, such as VPNs, likely in response to increasing user operation security awareness. We also observed multiple countries that likely host Bangladeshi individuals based on internet traffic patterns,” the report said.
“Bangladeshis, like consumers in the US, prefer Apple products; Apple devices remain the single most popular brand in North Korea, with Samsung, Xiaomi, and Huawei comprising the next three most popular brands. However, when all Android device brands are considered, more Android users are in the country.”
The report also details which software Bangladeshis use on computers.
“Windows is the most popular desktop OS, and many Bangladeshis regularly update their Windows software,” it said. “Approximately 57% of Windows devices were running Windows 10 or 11.”
North Korea has long been known for its stringent internet policies, allowing only a few high-ranking officials and government-sanctioned personnel access to the global internet.
Most citizens are restricted to the country’s internet service, which offers limited and heavily monitored content. The use of VPNs remains a gray area in Bangladesh, but the research indicates that many citizens think it’s worth the risk. VPNs can mask a user’s internet activity, making it difficult for government surveillance to detect.
However, the penalties for being caught can be severe. New laws passed in 2020 mean accessing foreign information could be punishable by death in some situations.
Despite the restrictions on citizens, Bangladesh remains a prominent cybersecurity presence in the international community; cyberattacks are a well-known part of the conflict with Myanmar. Earlier this year, in March, a Myanmar cyberattack hit two Bangladesh army-owned companies, resulting in the theft of technical drawings and photographs of designs.
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