Russia to crack down on abuse of .ru addresses
Passport or registration papers required

The organization that administers Russia's .ru top-level domain names will soon begin verifying the identity of its customers in an attempt to crack down on cybercrime, according to reports.

Starting April 1, Russia's Coordination Center for will require individuals and businesses applying for a .ru domain address to provide a copy of a passport or legal registration papers. The "drastic policy change" was reported last month by domain name services company Hexonet and confirmed late last week by IDG News.