Turkmenistan blocks the internet on a massive scale - whole chunks of 65,000 addresses at once. Officially, it’s about “security.” In reality, it’s about money.
The same people shutting down the web are the ones selling the keys to get back online. Cybersecurity bosses and their friends run a booming VPN black market. They advertise openly, drop phone numbers, and promise “guaranteed access” because their product comes straight from the source - the very agency that censors the internet.
It’s a mafia scheme in uniform: first strangle the internet, then sell the cure. Prices range from $2.50 a week to $50 a month - absurd in a country where wages are among the lowest in the region. The dealers make tens of thousands of dollars every month, while ordinary people are left cut off from jobs, education, and the outside world.
Turkmenistan isn’t just behind in technology - it’s being held hostage. The so-called guardians of cybersecurity are nothing more than digital racketeers, trading the country’s future for quick cash.
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