Russian intelligence authorities on edge over arrest of Telegram founder :: Sympathetic Media Newsis ::

Russian military and intelligence agencies actively use Telegram as a means of communication

Russian soldier: “If the enemy infiltrates Telegram, we are doomed”

Durov Appears to Have Collaborated with Russian Government in Lifting Telegram Sanctions in 2020

[자카르타=AP/뉴시스]Pavel Durov, CEO of Telegram, the creator of the social media application Telegram, attends an event in Jakarta, Indonesia, on August 1, 2017 (local time). There are grave concerns that information will be leaked due to Durov’s arrest, as the Russian military and intelligence agencies heavily use Telegram. 2024.08.31.

[서울=뉴시스] Reporter Kang Young-jin = The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on the 30th (local time) that with Telegram founder Pavel Durov being arrested in France, Russian military personnel and intelligence agents who heavily use Telegram are greatly concerned about information leaks.

“Many people joke that the arrest of Pavel Durov is the arrest of the Russian army’s chief of communications,” said Eleksei Rogozin, a former military-industrial complex executive and adviser to the Russian parliament.

Russian forces have had a hard time with unsecured communications systems since their invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Moreover, the old communication system was not suitable for drone warfare, which requires real-time transmission of video.

Accordingly, the Russian and Ukrainian militaries began to use civilian communication systems. While the Ukrainian military used Western systems such as Signal and Discord, the Russian military mainly used Telegram.

“Telegram is not an official Russian military communication tool, but Russian soldiers and military units use it to coordinate tactics,” said Dmitry Alperovich, chairman of the Silverado Policy Facilitation Institute.

Volunteers who provide military supplies to the Russian military, including drones, night vision goggles, and vehicles, rely almost entirely on Telegram. Influencers who work closely with the Russian Defense Ministry and promote support for the war are also actively using Telegram.

Andrei Medvedev, a Russian state television journalist, wrote that Telegram’s detention was “problematic because it was the main means of communication for military secret communications.”

“If the enemy gets into Telegram, we are doomed. A lot of information flows through Telegram, whether it’s encrypted chat or not,” wrote a Russian soldier who runs a Telegram channel under the name “Callsign Ossetin.”

Russian media outlets are widely publicizing a government directive to delete Telegram chat logs, but Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has denied giving such a directive.

Also, Sergei Naryshkin, the head of Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), recently said that Durov would not pass on information harmful to Russia to Western countries, including France. “I firmly believe that he will not allow it,” he told a press conference with the state-run TASS news agency.

The Russian government’s response to Durov’s detention is unusual, given that he renounced his Russian citizenship in 2014.

Durov gave up his stake in the social media outlet VKontakte, which he founded, to avoid giving in to Russian intelligence demands for information on those involved in the Maidan revolution in Ukraine. He later acquired French, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and UAE citizenship.

A senior Western official said that if Durov cooperates, Russian intelligence agencies will suffer catastrophic damage.

Another Western intelligence official said Telegram played a major role in sabotage operations in Europe, as well as in the war in Ukraine. “They seem to be very concerned given the level of alertness from Russian intelligence,” he said.

“Russia’s nervous reaction is intended to send a message to Durov not to cooperate,” said intelligence researcher Christo Grozev.

Durov complained in 2018 about not being able to visit his parents in Russia, but has remained in the country since Russia lifted its entry ban in 2020. The following year, a Russian state-owned bank helped Telegram raise $1 billion in funding, with several Russian investors also contributing.

“We know that Durov made many sacrifices in 2013-14, but we do not know the conditions under which Russian authorities lifted restrictions on Telegram in 2020,” said Andrei Soldatov, a senior researcher at the Center for European Policy Analysis.

At the time, Durov said the lifting of restrictions would have a “positive impact” on Russia’s security, and that Telegram had developed a way to remove “extremist propaganda” without leaking user data.

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