Russia has the technology to track encrypted messages on WhatsApp and Signal — NYT
Russia has the technology to track encrypted messages on WhatsApp and Signal. This also applies to the Telegram messenger, but the reports that Russian intelligence services have access to it have existed for a long time.
The New York Times writes about this, citing documents from suppliers of such technologies, cybersecurity experts, digital activists, and one unnamed person involved in digital surveillance operations in the country.
Several little-known Russian technology companies are developing such systems. Many of them belong to the Citadel group, formerly headed by oligarch Alisher Usmanov, who was sanctioned by the EU.
MFI Soft, VAS Experts, and Protei initially created wiretapping systems and then moved on to develop new Internet surveillance systems.
The journalists received hundreds of files, about 40 of which describe surveillance tools. These files were given to them by a person who has access to such documents.
These tools can track certain types of activity on encrypted apps such as WhatsApp, Signal, and Telegram, monitor phone locations, identify anonymous social media users, and break into people's accounts.
The tracking system from MFI Soft helps display information about subscribers along with statistics on their Internet traffic.
Another tool developed by MFI Soft, NetBeholder, can map the location of two phones throughout the day to determine if they have crossed paths with each other. This can indicate a potential meeting between people.
Another feature allows you to check if multiple phones are frequently near each other to determine if a person may be using two or more phones.
Protei also offers products that provide voice-to-text transcription for intercepted phone calls, as well as tools to identify "suspicious behaviour."
Apart from Russia, this software is used in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine. However, the developers also plan to sell their services to Eastern Europe, Central Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and South America.
Mobile messenger companies have few defences against such software. That's because they collect data from providers, not the apps themselves.
