The websites of leading Russian banking institutions have massively stopped opening in popular foreign browsers such as Google Chrome, Safari and Microsoft Edge.
The reason lies in the forced replacement of access to international security certificates. After Western providers began to cancel the protected connections of sanctioned entities, Russian banks began an urgent migration to state-controlled cryptographic keys and alternative destinations such as China's TrustAsia, writes Mediazona.
For the end user outside the Russian Federation, this means a complete blockage when trying to access through a standard web browser. Local regulators insist on switching to the Russian browser “Yandex“ or manually installing the state certificate of Roskomnadzor. In addition, many banking platforms are completely blocking traffic from foreign countries and unauthorized VPNs. This step was confirmed by economic analysis by The Moscow Times, describing the tightening of digital control by the Ministry of Digital Development.
Telegram disappeared from Apple's App Store for hours
In parallel with the banking shake-up, users around the world woke up to the news that the Telegram app had been completely removed from Apple's global store. The platform's disappearance affected all 175 distribution regions and blocked new downloads and updates, the technology portal 9to5Mac reported (link: 9to5mac.com/2026/08/03/telegram-appears-to-have-been-pulled-from-the-app-store-worldwide/).
The Cupertino-based tech giant issued an official statement to leading global media, quoted by Reuters (link: reuters.com/business/retail-consumer/telegram-says-app-restored-apples-app-store-2026-08-04/). Apple explained that the temporary removal was necessary due to discovered materials that violated the company's strict content safety rules. The platform quickly removed the controversial publications and was allowed to return to the App Store. Although service has now been restored, the incident demonstrated the vulnerability of independent communication channels to the centralized platforms of “Big Tech“.