Belarusian Officials Shut Down Internet With Technology Made by U.S. Firm

The government of Belarus shut down access to much of the internet during a crucial election this month by using equipment manufactured by a U.S. company to block people's access to thousands of websites, according to two people familiar with the matter.

Sandvine Inc. makes what's known as “deep packet inspection” equipment, used to monitor and filter network traffic. It was obtained by Belarus’s National Traffic Exchange Center, which manages the country’s internet networks, as part of a $2.5 million contract with the Russian technology supplier Jet Infosystems, which supplied the Sandvine equipment, according to government documents and the people.