Various companies are imposing restrictions on players from Russia, and Xbox is no exception in this regard. However, a solution was found in the form of a project called Xbox DNS, which allowed users to access Xbox Live and other services with regional restrictions.
Recently, this project attracted the attention of the local regulator and provider:
Through the interaction channel *** and the CMU SSOP (Center for Monitoring and Management of Public Communication Networks), we received information that the IP addresses you are using host means of bypassing internet resource blockages. This activity falls under clause 1.1 of the user agreement, in particular, it contradicts the instructions of government authorities. We are forced to block your account.
Soon, the creators of the Xbox DNS service announced that it was “back in action.” They explained that a decision was made to “tighten the screws,” but Xbox Live and some other services became available to Russians again:
The failure did not happen for no reason. Our hoster received a “letter of happiness” from the CMU SSOP (this is a RKN structure) with a complaint that we host “means of bypassing blockages” here, and without further ado, all our subnets were multiplied by 0. To protect the infrastructure and avoid similar incidents in the future, we temporarily tightened the screws and disabled some directions until a full investigation.
Now the authors of Xbox DNS are conducting an audit and closing loopholes “so that fans of tunneling and similar scum DO NOT put the entire service at risk.”