How Roskomnadzor Protects Putin s Power

How Roskomnadzor Protects Putin's Power

Roskomnadzor, Russia's main censorship agency, secretly monitors publications critical of Russian authorities on the Internet. They prepare reports and send them to security forces. What does that mean for Russian citizens?

Date February 8, 2023 Author Illustration AI Artist SPELIY ARBUZ with MIDJORNEY

Until now, Roskomnadzor has been known primarily as a Russian censorship agency. Since the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine alone, Roskomnadzor has blocked more than 125, 000 publications about the war, in addition to independent media and major social networks like Facebook and Instagram.

But blocking sites that the authorities deem objectionable is not the only responsibility of Roskomnadzor. The Kremlin has given the agency another important task: to act as Vladimir Putin's personal digital eye. Inside Roskomnadzor is a state-owned company with more than 1, 000 employees who work every day, sometimes on weekends and holidays, looking for online publications critical of Putin. Their reports are sent to the Russian presidential administration and security services.

Millions of classified documents, images and emails from Russian censors ended up in the hands of journalists. IStories looked through the leaks together with the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung and other participants in the investigation. Here are the results:

GRFC employees -- we'll explain who they are later -- are studying publications critical of Putin and his deteriorating health. They also predict what future events will spur increased criticism;
GRFC uses an internal messaging app to send reports to the "higher ups." The app is also used for communication with Roskomnadzor, the Prosecutor General's Office, the Ministry of the Interior and the Federal Security Service (FSB);
Roskomnadzor monitors social tensions among Russians:

Putin is a crab

GRFC employees prepare and manage reports on the presence of dissidents in the Federal District and regions.

In Moscow's Zamoskvorechye district, on Dervenevskaya Embankment, stands an inconspicuous two-story red-brick building -- an old factory floor converted into a stylish loft -- and a sign in front of the entrance reads: Federal State Enterprise "General Radio Frequency Center" (GRFC).

GRFC's website states that its main function is to ensure the proper use of radio frequencies. But as #RussianCensorFiles shows (journalists involved in the investigation call it a leak), the state entrusted GRFC staff with another important task: memes about Putin in the shape of a crab, reports about Putin's illness, and negative comments from local residents after the head of state's visit. The "General Radio Frequency Center" (GRFC) building in Moscow PHOTO: GRFC's Facebook page

Who hacked Roskomnadzor and why share data with journalists? More about #russiancensorfiles

In November 2022, a group of Belarusian hackers known as "Cyberpartisans" announced that they had penetrated GRFC's internal network and downloaded documents, correspondence, and emails from employees, as well as a monitoring system for employees. As evidence, they showed screenshots of interactions with employees on messaging apps and emails, as well as internal documents listing tasks. Cyberpartisans also claimed to have disrupted GRFC's operations by encrypting workstations. The cyberattack was confirmed by GRFC itself. However, they point out that the hackers "did not have access to any classified information or critical infrastructure." According to Cyberpartisans, the materials they received prove "massive surveillance and control of anyone who spoke out against the Putin regime for the last 20 years."

The hackers stayed in GRFC's systems for months before they were discovered. No one paid attention to them, as they were monitoring all employees and their actions. Even after the hack was made public, Cyberpartisans had access to internal communications. They say they witnessed panic among executives and managers, as well as among ordinary employees who feared that their data would be sold or made public.

Cyberpartisans handed over everything they obtained from the hack to reporters from Russian media, including the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung and IStories. The leak is called "#RussianCensorFiles."

The hackers reportedly chose Roskomnadzor to target the agency because it is "the most important element of Russia's repression machine."

"They monitor everything on the Internet and find a violation, directly sent that information to FSB, National Security Corps, Federal Security Bureau (FSO), and more potential threats to stabilize the government. The strategy is quickly suppressed to the Süddeutsche Zeitung reporter, saying that the strategy is quickly sent.

"It's important for the two people to be able to fight back to a tyrant, who is trying to dye the two countries in this important time," he said in a statement the day after the invasion began. Later, the number of Cyber Paltyzan's Haktvist doubled from 30 to 60. "They monitor everything on the Internet and find a violation, directly sent that information to FSB, National Security Corps, Federal Security Bureau (FSO), and more potential threats to stabilize the government. The strategy is quickly suppressed to the Süddeutsche Zeitung reporter, saying that the strategy is quickly sent. Cyber Palcizan formed a team in 2020 during a larg e-scale protest activity in the Alexander Lukashenko administration in Belarus. According to an interview with the BBC Russian Service, they all have a wealth of experience in the IT department, but have never participated in political activities before. "Our friends and families are killed, tortured, and raped. Nobody can see it," the hackers published a statement on the Belarus Chamber of Commerce and the team's activities. Announced the start. Since then, they have organized Belarushi's cyber attacks on railway systems, have received data from the internal security department of the Ministry of Domain, and recorded the eavesdropping of security forces and officials. Following Russia's ful l-fledged Ukrainian invasion, they declared, "We are ready to cooperate in fighting fascist campaigns trying to invade fraternity Ukraine." "It's important for the two people to be able to fight back to a tyrant, who is trying to dye the two countries in this important time," he said in a statement the day after the invasion began. Later, the number of Cyber Paltyzan's Haktvist doubled from 30 to 60.

"The unscheduled stop of the presidential motorcade in Kaliningrad and the conversation between the President of the Russian Federation and local residents caused a negative reaction from the Russian Internet community. The author skeptically noted that 'Vladimir Putin, surrounded by security guards, spoke to local residents in Kaliningrad for about 10 seconds and then drove off,' calling the stop a 'cheap performance.' It was also suggested that the conversation between the head of state and citizens could have been a 'planned action,' and that most of the roles of passers-by were played by members of the security services. [Other authors mocked V. Putin's words that 'diligence is generally a separate talent, and not just, rude, rubber butts.' It is emphasized that such remarks, like other speeches by the head of state, 'for a long time did not evoke any emotions except a rehash of embarrassment.'"

This is part of a report that GRFC staff regularly compiles following the results of events in which Putin took part.

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The war and Putin’s health

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In addition to citing bloggers and local residents, the authors of these analyses, as a rule, cite the number of negative publications during the monitoring period, top news stories, and so-called "points of information tension" in the region (events that could lead to a public backlash). An excerpt from the methodological recommendations for creating these analyses reads: "In the report, individual points of information tension formed in a particular region are also important. As a rule, these are such topics specific to that region that caused negative feedback on the monitoring topic (for example, forest fires, the influx of refugees into the region, the appointment of a new governor, etc.)."

As an example of such a regional "tension of information", there is a report last year on the negative attitude toward Putin. "The authors call the head of the state the" executioner of Vessel ", and in this tragedy, the authorities prioritize the" national interests "over" the lives of the people "and" sacrificed their own people. " At the same time, V. Putin explained that "I have ignored the worst in my world for 14 years and has not participated in terrorism victims." 。 The Russian Federal President did not speak "words of sympathy as an ordinary human" to the victims of terrorist attacks in Beslan and the relatives of the Coursque submarine crew, and "aid." Was noticed. "

GRFC staff not only searched for negative publications about Putin, but also predicted what kind of events would be criticized in the future. For example, in August 2022, they suggested that Putin would participate in the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok and that the results of the September voting date would increase criticism of Putin.

Since February 2022, the war in Ukraine has become a major topic of GRFC reports on negative publications about Putin. In most cases, the author, the Russian Federal President, "unleashes the war", "illegally invades the territory of neighboring countries," to die the Russian army, provocate the integration of the Western countries to the Russian Federation, and start a special operation. The GRFC employee reported that he had a full responsibility that caused economic, political, and isolated results, "said GRFC employees about the first month of media discourse when the war began. 。

Russian censorships include major overseas media websites such as CNN, Fox News, and Financial Times to anonymous telegram channels such as General SVR [Original: гал с]. I paid attention.

Judging from the GRFC internal documents, Putin was most criticized last fall, mobilized, 70th birthday, and explosion of Crimea's bridge. Meanwhile, GRFC staff has found more than 1, 000 critical messages about the president a week. As an example of such a regional "tension of information", there is a report last year on the negative attitude toward Putin. "The authors call the head of the state the" executioner of Vessel ", and in this tragedy, the authorities prioritize the" national interests "over" the lives of the people "and" sacrificed their own people. " At the same time, V. Putin explained that "I have ignored the worst in my world for 14 years and has not participated in terrorism victims." 。 The Russian Federal President did not speak "words of sympathy as an ordinary human" to the victims of terrorist attacks in Beslan and the relatives of the Coursque submarine crew, and "aid." Was noticed. "

How Roskomnadzor looks for negativity about Putin

Russian censorships include major overseas media websites such as CNN, Fox News, and Financial Times to anonymous telegram channels such as General SVR [Original: гал с]. I paid attention.

Judging from the GRFC internal documents, Putin was most criticized last fall, mobilized, 70th birthday, and explosion on the Crimea's bridge. Meanwhile, GRFC staff has discovered more than 1, 000 critical messages a week about the president. As an example of such a regional "tension of information", there is a report last year on the negative attitude toward Putin. "The authors call the head of the state the" executioner of Vessel ", and in this tragedy, the authorities prioritize the" national interests "over" the lives of the people "and" sacrificed their own people. " At the same time, V. Putin explained that "I have ignored the worst in my world for 14 years and has not participated in terrorism victims." 。 The Russian Federal President did not speak "words of sympathy as an ordinary human" to the victims of terrorist attacks in Beslan and the relatives of the Coursque submarine crew, and "aid." Was noticed. "

Russian censorships include a variety of information sources, from major overseas media websites such as CNN, Fox News, and Financial Times to anonymous telegram channels such as General SVR [Original: гал с]. I paid attention.

Judging from the GRFC internal documents, Putin was most criticized last fall, mobilized, 70th birthday, and explosion on the Crimea's bridge. Meanwhile, GRFC staff has found more than 1, 000 critical messages about the president a week.

Along with the war, GRFC officials monitored daily for reports on Putin's "critical health condition."

To whom are reports on Putin sent

"Monitoring information events about the deteriorating health of the president" was entrusted to candidates for positions in the GRFC's monitoring department as a test task.

Russian censors were looking for reports on Putin's illness in the context of "fakes," as well as publications about killings of civilians in Ukraine and losses experienced by Russian troops, "along with 'special military operations' (a Russian state euphemism used by officials instead of 'war')." Censors cited messages from Telegram chats such as: "Putin has cancer, dementia and mental illness. "Your Putin already suffers from bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. " "Would a normal Russian person support a mentally ill president? " "Putin is 100% dementia! The old man is losing his mind," "Putin has cancer [...] but he will live." Citing the example of negative publications about Putin's health, GRFC officials titled the report "Results of work to counter attempts to destabilize Russian society in the context of "special military operations" on the territory of Ukraine."

Popularity is very important for any leader, and it is no different for Putin. "Any government can only be sustainable if it depends on the support of a significant section of the electorate," political scientist Abbas Gallyamov said, explaining why the GRFC monitors negative publications about Putin daily. "You can't build a stable government by bayonets alone. If the people hate you, at some point the security forces will remove you. Popularity is not only a way to prevent rebellions and revolutions, but also a way to avoid dependency on the security forces. A politician can only be truly independent from the security forces when he does not really need their services to govern."

According to Gallyamov, Russian authorities use reports on negative publications to determine how to "calm unrest."

"You see the threat of information and decide how to stop it, how to deal with it. You create alternatives or move power. GRFC uses the Brand Analytics media and social media monitoring system, but also monitors publications critical of the president manually. Putin-related materials are searched for, for example, the following keywords: "bald dwarf", "Puilo" (a pun on Putin's name, a euphemism for penis), "Putinvor", "Little Zaches", "Chief of corrupt officials", "Putler", "Pinya", and the word "palace" in publications about Putin, which Russian censors say is offensive.

In addition to negative descriptions, GRFC staff are also required to look for offensive images, for example, "comparisons of the president with negative figures" (Hitler, terrorist, thief, vampire, pedophile, madman). Additionally, Russian censors search for images depicting Putin as a woman, a "gay", a crab [Putin's nickname explained below], a moth [media reports say Putin had a moth-related nickname when he was younger], on his knees in a disdainful position, among human excrement, in a garbage can, next to excrement, and in pornographic scenes.

Why Putin is a crab?

What else is Roskomnadzor monitoring

On February 14, 2008, Vladimir Putin said: "I am not ashamed of the people who voted for me twice when I was elected President of the Russian Federation. All these eight years I worked as a slave on a galley." (Все эти восемь лет я пахал как раб на галере) can be misheard in Russian as “как краб на галере”, which translates to “like a crab in a galley”.

Examples of images that Roskomnadzor and GRFC consider offensive to the President and national symbols

In 2021, reports on “negative and defamatory information related to the President of the Russian Federation” were prepared daily. In mid-August, surveillance department officials noted that it was impossible to continue working in the same mode, since independent media and social networks were blocked. Since then, reports on negative publications about Putin have been prepared weekly.

GRFC employees send weekly and monthly reports to Roskomnadzor and other recipients whom we could not identify about negative attitudes towards Putin. For example, one of them named his email address after the fictional character Francis Dralhyde, who killed his entire family.

GRFC also prepares monthly reports for the Presidential Administration, in which censors report how many links they have blocked that contain information that they consider to be prohibited. In addition, GRFC reports all messages about large-scale events to the Presidential Administration. These reports include publications about anti-war actions, as well as local protests. For example, in a memo to the Presidential Administration, GRFC officials mention rallies against the "optimization" of a hospital in Shadrinsk, Kurgan Oblast, pickets against the liquidation of the Murmansk Oceanarium, and actions against the construction of a chemical plant in Nakhodka.

To send reports to the "higher echelons" of the GRFC, they use the internal messaging app "Operational Interaction Room" (OIR), launched at the end of 2019. Officials of Roskomnadzor, GRFC, Prosecutor General's Office, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Federal Security Service of Russia communicate on this messenger.

By August 2021, more than 1, 000 people, mostly law enforcement officials, had registered with OIR. Also connected to the system were members of regional governments, officials of the Federal Security Service (FSO) and one representative of the FSB (whose name was withheld).

MVD, FSO, Prosecutor General, Roskomnadzor and GRFC officials in chats called "terrorist"

Daily protest sentiment reports

Russian censors sent some reports directly to security agencies in private messages. In one of them, a GRFC employee sent a link to "inaccurate" information about the actions of Russian troops in Ukraine to Senior Prosecutor Timur Abregov.

Interactions between GRFC employees and prosecutors

Before the start of the full-scale war, the workload of GRFC monitoring department employees was increasing. In one message, they complained that in 2019 they had to prepare only eight reports, but in 2021 they would need twice as many.

In addition to Putin's negative publications, Russian censorship has begun to carefully monitor reports on the Russian mobilization, loss, and Ukraine's occupied territory.

War: Russian Army's dispatch and loss

GRFC officials are pursuing publications on Ukraine's war every day. In order to increase the workload on the "Special Military Operation", they temporarily stopped compiling reports on terrorism topics. Roscom Nazor has instructed GRFC staff to collect reports on the "fall of the Russian Federal Army" on weekends and holidays. Management has searched for a search for "critical of the" Special Military Operation, "and to create prerequisites for the collapse of panic and public order and morals."

Russian censorship regarded all messages of Ukrainian civilians, the destruction of social infrastructure, the loss of the Russian army, and the rejection of Russian soldiers.
GRFC is also monitoring ant i-war messages from Russians. According to Leaks, the next day after the ful l-fledged war began, the censorship began automatically monitoring publications on the "call for illegal rally on the Ukraine situation."
The agenda in the occupied territory
Another monitoring field was the agenda in the Ukrainian territory occupied by Russia. For example, it has been reported that Kelson and the Zapolizian region are annexed and more than 260 Ukrainian media sites are blocked, and there are effectively no independent media on the occupation territory.
Kelson's "Nadneprian Kaya Pravda" paper publishes "Popular Social Social Social Society" from Russia, and "Novaya Kahovka" paper wrote about "integration with the Russian Federation" and "Westy Genicasca". The paper publishes a paren t-like Russian article that wants to integrate with Russia, and the "Zapology Vesnik" paper is "informed readers about the benefits of the Russian Federation", and "Incurate information from Ukraine and the United States". One report has been warning. In addition to negative publications on Putin, Russian censorship has begun to carefully monitor reports on the Russian mobilization, loss, and the expansion of Ukraine.
War: Russian Army's dispatch and loss
GRFC officials are pursuing publications on Ukraine's war every day. In order to increase the workload on the "Special Military Operation", they temporarily stopped compiling reports on terrorism topics. Roscom Nazor has instructed GRFC staff to collect reports on the "fall of the Russian Federal Army" on weekends and holidays. Management has searched for a search for "critical of the" Special Military Operation, "and to create prerequisites for the collapse of panic and public order and morals."
Russian censorship regarded all messages of Ukrainian civilians, the destruction of social infrastructure, the loss of the Russian army, and the rejection of Russian soldiers.
GRFC is also monitoring ant i-war messages from Russians. According to Leaks, the next day after the ful l-fledged war began, the censorship began automatically monitoring publications on the "call for illegal rally on the Ukraine situation."
The agenda in the occupied territory
Another monitoring field was the agenda in the Ukrainian territory occupied by Russia. For example, it has been reported that Kelson and the Zapolizian region were annexed and more than 260 Ukrainian media sites were blocked, and that the occupied territory had virtually no independent media to write about war.
Kelson's "Nadneprian Kaya Pravda" paper publishes "Popular Social Social Social Society" from Russia, and "Novaya Kahovka" paper wrote about "integration with the Russian Federation" and "Westy Genicasca". The paper publishes a paren t-like Russian article that wants to integrate with Russia, and the "Zapology Vesnik" paper is "informed readers about the benefits of the Russian Federation", and "Incurate information from Ukraine and the United States". One report has been warning. In addition to Putin's negative publications, Russian censorship has begun to carefully monitor reports on the Russian mobilization, loss, and Ukraine's occupied territory.

War: Russian Army's dispatch and loss

Russian censorship regarded all messages of Ukrainian civilians, the destruction of social infrastructure, the loss of the Russian army, and the rejection of Russian soldiers.

GRFC is also monitoring ant i-war messages from Russians. According to Leaks, the next day after the ful l-fledged war began, the censorship began automatically monitoring publications on the "call for illegal rally on the Ukraine situation."

The agenda in the occupied territory

Another monitoring field was the agenda in the Ukrainian territory occupied by Russia. For example, it has been reported that Kelson and the Zapolizian region were annexed and more than 260 Ukrainian media sites were blocked, and that the occupied territory had virtually no independent media to write about war.

Kelson's "Nadneprian Kaya Pravda" paper publishes "Popular Social Social Social Society" from Russia, and "Novaya Kahovka" paper wrote about "integration with the Russian Federation" and "Westy Genicasca". The paper publishes a paren t-like Russian article that wants to integrate with Russia, and the "Zapology Vesnik" paper is "informed readers about the benefits of the Russian Federation", and "Incurate information from Ukraine and the United States". One report has been warning.

By November 2022, 74 % of the Zapolizian media and 63 % of the Kelson media were labeled by the GRFC staff. All other media were already blocked or blocked. In addition to traditional media, Russian censorship has monitored the cit y-specific social network group and the local residents' social network messages.
Protests and unstable Russian society

Inside the Censorship Machine

GRFC monitors "social tension" in the Russian region. The censorship summarizes a report on protests in all regional areas, such as all federal districts, such as annexed Crimea and Sevastopoli. Only the news that caused ant i-government demonstrations (for example, it became a hot topic that Cheriavinsk residents were dissatisfied with the comments on social networks and accusing city authorities). Rather, it also includes information on future demonstrations and "measures" to suppress them.

Date February 8, 2023 Author "Invasion of territorial conservation, regionalization";

“We don’t have even a free finger”

"Criticism of the current Russian administration, comparison of living standards (Russia and Western countries)";

"Report on no n-regulated opposition activities";

"Sanction pressure

"Ant i-militaryism

"Contribution of religion and nation";

Sexual and other "freedom". Pushing for tolerance ";

"Legal of soft drugs";
"Invasion of foreign policy, foreign internal affairs interference";
"Interpretation of the history of World War II, the results of the war and the progress of the war";

PHOTO: GRFC's Facebook page

Who hacked Roskomnadzor and why share data with journalists? More about #russiancensorfiles

Surveillance services employees have created a daily report on "Russian instability" since at least 2020. The OIR system has a separate "unstable urgent" chat, and the GRFC staff sends the surveillance results of the day with a link to "the highest response or extreme material".

Boar goes hunting

What Russian authorities consider as "unstable"

Which section was included in the report of the 2022 Russian society's instinctization included in the section:

"Invasion of territorial conservation, regionalization";

"Criticism of the current Russian administration, comparison of living standards (Russia and Western countries)";

"Report on no n-regulated opposition activities";
"Sanction pressure
"Ant i-militaryism
"Contribution of religion and nation";
Sexual and other "freedom". Pushing for tolerance ";

"Legal of soft drugs";

"Invasion of foreign policy, foreign internal affairs interference";

"Interpretation of the distortion of the history of World War II, the results of the war and the progress of the process and the progress";

"The impact over the borders of neighboring countries)" for Russia ";

"Foreign NGO activities

By November 2022, 74 % of the Zapolizian media and 63 % of the media in the Kelson region were labeled the "parent Russian" by November 2022. All other media were already blocked or blocked. In addition to traditional media, Russian censorship has monitored the cit y-specific social network group and the local residents' social network messages.

Protests and unstable Russian society

GRFC monitors "social tension" in the Russian region. The censorship summarizes a report on protests in all regional areas, such as all federal districts, such as annexed Crimea and Sevastopoli. Only the news that caused ant i-government demonstrations (for example, it became a hot topic that Chelabinsk residents complained in social networks and blamed city authorities). Rather, it also includes information on future demonstrations and "measures" to suppress them.

What Russian authorities consider as "unstable"

Which section was included in the report of the 2022 Russian society's instinctization included in the section:

"Invasion of territorial conservation, regionalization";

"Criticism of the current Russian administration, comparison of living standards (Russia and Western countries)";

"Report on no n-regulated opposition activities";

"Sanction pressure

"Ant i-militaryism

"Contribution of religion and nation";

Sexual and other "freedom". Pushing for tolerance ";

"Legal of soft drugs";

"Invasion of foreign policy, foreign internal affairs interference";

"Interpretation of the history of World War II, the results of the war and the progress of the war";

"The impact over the borders of neighboring countries)" for Russia ";

"Foreign NGO activities

Negative opinions on government officials

GRFC officials are following negative publications not only for Putin but also for other hig h-ranking officials. In 2020, they summarized 42 pages of pages of online criticism of Alexander Kinsitein, the head of the National Assembly Information Policy Committee. "The psychiatric disorders and no n-traditional sexual orientation of parliamentarians have become one of the main news," said the author in the report. It also includes publications on Hinshitein's failure as an advisor to the National Security Captain, performing a scandalous legislation, drunk and brushed, connected to criminals, and bribes against voters.

Apparently, even the authors of Kinsitein's memo didn't like him very much. "He repeatedly acted as an author of logically suspected remarks on social political topics, and a. Kinsitein himself was also a scandal participant and one of the founders. They try to act as an expert even in highly likely issues. " At the beginning of 2020, a similar note was written in the ministry about criticism of the Ministry of Health, Mikhail Murashiko.

Roscom Nazool blocks unfavorable information about officials. This is usually performed at the request of the court and the Public Prosecutor's Office. In October 2022, the bureau said, "A man (a former representative of Loscosmos), a man who looks similar to the dormitory logoogene," a poster stating that "white in all countries, unite." He was instructed to block the website where the image he had. In addition, GRFC monitored the plagiarism of publications and Senator Altem Shakin on the violation of corruption and called for deleting or blocking pages.

As evident from this leak, GRFC's surveillance departments will continue to track the people's reactions to Putin's hardest topics. Going back to 2021, they began preparing for the 2024 Russian presidential election. According to Leaks, GRFC will monitor the agenda during the presidential election and hire more people to continue to monitor what Russians think and write.

Roskomnadzor, GRFC, and Brand Analytics did not respond to comments on materials leaked with Istories and Süddeutsche Zeitung.

Details about this leak can be seen in other important articles:

Roscom Nazol is looking at the potential "foreign agents", opinion leaders, media, IT giants, messenger apps, and people who are close to power.

How does Roscom Nazool intend to monitor the entire Russian Internet using artificial intelligence?

Roscom Nazool is planning to fully monitor the entire Russian Internet using artificial intelligence. Is it possible?

date

February 8, 2023

author

Illustration: With the help of AI artist Spelly Albsbes, Mid Joney Nural Network

On July 12, 2022, Alexander Fedotov, the director of the General Radio Center (GRFC), was preparing for the next meeting for artificial intelligence. GRFC is part of Roscom Nazol, the main censorship of Russia. The center is responsible for monitoring the Internet, preparing information sheets and reports on the "prohibited information" found, and blocks such information.

Roskomnadzor staff have been searching for this s o-called prohibited information manually for many years. The number of topics searched by the program is very limited. The management hated the inefficient of searching by manual work, and Roscom Nazol was always a few steps behind. There was not enough people to work. When the authorities asked the organization to find a creative solution to how to improve their work, one of the employees answered by email: "We love being creative, but now. Not only is not empty, but even one finger is not empty. "

As a result, GRFC has developed social networks, media, messenger channels, image bulletin boards, and some automatic systems that constantly monitor other information sources. This was the issue of the meeting that Fedotov was preparing. He had to write a sel f-introduction word for himself and his boss, GRFC's Ruslan Nes Terenko. Roscom Nazol is looking at the potential "foreign agents", opinion leaders, media, IT giant, messenger apps, and people close to power.

How does Roscom Nazool intend to monitor the entire Russian Internet using artificial intelligence?

Roscom Nazool is planning to fully monitor the entire Russian Internet using artificial intelligence. Is it possible?

date

February 8, 2023

author

Illustration: With the help of AI artist Spelly Albsbes, Mid Joney Nural Network

As a result, GRFC has developed social networks, media, messenger channels, image bulletin boards, and some automatic systems that constantly monitor other information sources. This was the issue of the meeting that Fedotov was preparing. He had to write a sel f-introduction word for himself and his boss, GRFC's Ruslan Nes Terenko. Roscom Nazol is looking at the potential "foreign agents", opinion leaders, media, IT giants, messenger apps, and people who are close to power.

How does Roscom Nazool intend to monitor the entire Russian Internet using artificial intelligence?

Roscom Nazool is planning to fully monitor the entire Russian Internet using artificial intelligence. Is it possible?

date

February 8, 2023

author

Illustration: With the help of AI artist Spelly Albsbes, Mid Joney Nural Network

A year earlier, Nesterenko introduced, GRFC had already conducted research to develop programs based on machine learning and neural networks. The aim was for Roskomnadzor to have the tools to monitor globally not only individual dissidents, activists, volunteers and independent journalists who are considered inconvenient to the state, but almost all Russians who dare to speak out on social networks.

Journalists from IStories discovered the contents of Nesterenko's speeches and the internal communications of his employees thanks to the largest ever leak of internal documents from Roskomnadzor. IStories had exclusive access to more than 2 million documents, images and internal emails. The project is called #RussianCensorFiles.

Here's what we found out:

What automated systems Roskomnadzor is developing to monitor the Internet across the board, and whether it is possible to put them into place;

What topics will these systems track and how;

What technologies does Roskomnadzor already have;

Who hacked Roskomnadzor and why share data with journalists? More about #russiancensorfiles

In November 2022, a group of Belarusian hackers known as "Cyberpartisans" announced that they had penetrated the internal network of GRFC and downloaded documents, correspondence, and emails from employees, as well as monitoring systems for employees. As evidence, they showed screenshots of interactions with employees in messaging apps and emails, as well as internal documents listing tasks. Cyberpartisans also claimed to have disrupted GRFC's work by encrypting workstations. The cyberattack was confirmed by GRFC itself. However, it noted that the hackers "did not have access to either classified information or critical infrastructure." According to Cyberpartisans, the materials they received prove "massive surveillance and control over everyone who spoke out against the Putin regime for the past 20 years."

The hackers remained in GRFC's systems for months before being discovered. No one paid attention to them, as the hackers were monitoring all personnel and their actions. Even after the hack was made public, Cyberpartisans had access to internal communications. They said they witnessed panic among executives, managers and rank-and-file employees who feared their data would be sold or made public.

All of the Cyberpalzan obtained by hacking was handed over to Russian media reporters such as Süddeutsche Zeitung and Istories. This leak is called "#russianSorfiles".

The hackers said they chose Roscom Nazol as an attack. The bureau is "the most important factor in the Russian oppression machine." "They monitor everything on the Internet, and as soon as they find some violations, they send the information directly to the FSB, the National Security Corps, Federal Protection Bureau (FSO), etc. The agents are quickly dispatched to the area, even the alternative movement and rebellious thoughts are well suppressed. I explain it.

Cyber Palcizan formed a team in 2020 during a larg e-scale protest activity in the Alexander Lukashenko administration in Belarus. According to an interview with the BBC Russian Service, they all have a wealth of experience in the IT department, but have never participated in political activities before. "Our friends and families are killed, tortured, and raped. Nobody can see it," the hackers published a statement on the Belarus Chamber of Commerce and the team's activities. Announced the start. Since then, they have organized Belarushi's cyber attacks on railway systems, have received data from the internal security department of the Ministry of Domain, and recorded the eavesdropping of security forces and officials. Following Russia's ful l-fledged Ukrainian invasion, they declared, "We are ready to cooperate in fighting fascist campaigns trying to invade fraternity Ukraine." "It's important for the two people to be able to fight back to a tyrant, who is trying to dye the two countries in this important time," he said in a statement the day after the invasion began. Later, the number of Cyber Paltyzan's Haktvist doubled from 30 to 60. Cyberpalzan has all been handed over to Russian media reporters such as Süddeutsche Zeitung and ISTORIES. This leak is called "#russianSorfiles".

Cyber Palcizan formed a team in 2020 during a larg e-scale protest activity in the Alexander Lukashenko administration in Belarus. According to an interview with the BBC Russian Service, they all have a wealth of experience in the IT department, but have never participated in political activities before. "Our friends and families are killed, tortured, and raped. Nobody can see it," the hackers published a statement on the Belarus Chamber of Commerce and the team's activities. Announced the start. Since then, they have organized Belarushi's cyber attacks on railway systems, have received data from the internal security department of the Ministry of Domain, and recorded the eavesdropping of security forces and officials. Following Russia's ful l-fledged Ukrainian invasion, they declared, "We are ready to cooperate in fighting fascist campaigns trying to invade fraternity Ukraine." "It's important for the two people to be able to fight back to a tyrant, who is trying to dye the two countries in this important time," he said in a statement the day after the invasion began. Later, the number of Cyber Paltyzan's Haktvist doubled from 30 to 60. All of the Cyberpalzan obtained by hacking was handed over to Russian media reporters such as Süddeutsche Zeitung and Istories. This leak is called "#russianSorfiles".

Alexander Fedotov's automated system for Alexander Fedov, who had been on the stage following Ruslan Nes Terenko, emphasized that "it is necessary to predict the problems facing a few years later," emphasized. This task is that the GRFC staff is "VEPR" for "AS VEPR" for comprehensive analysis of media materials and searching for information tension on global Internet, and "VEPR" is "Vepr" in Russian. It has been performed for one year by a project called "wild boar".

The main mission of VEPR is analyzed social networks and mass media materials, and based on the analysis, s o-called information tensions (the author of this research means spreading publications that could cause social reactions. Identifying), building a predictive model for social and political dynamics, predicting the information distribution scenario and "conversion to information threats", and the data is "power structure". It is to transfer.

GRFC is a team consisting of experts, researchers, and engineers at the Moscow Physical Technology Research Institute (MOPT), led by Constantine Boronzoff, the head of the Machine Learning and Digital Humanities. I asked to explore the sex. According to a report created by the Voronzoff team, they studied existing Internet censorship methods before starting work. Researchers are most interested in Chinese experience, saying, "Until now, the Internet censorship program in China is considered to be the most complicated in the world. They are starting to export technologies to other countries, but Russia is trying to make the same complex system for the Internet in Russia.

As planned by Roskomnadzor, VEPR should first focus on:

Protests and facts on the instability of Russian society (for example, territorial conservation, ethnic hatred, immigration policy, etc.);

Negative attitudes for national dignified people, national organizations, and par t-time organizations;

"Fake" on the national and national organizations, negative attitudes, the nation and the whole country;

Public opinion operation and social polarization (for example, topics for no n-systematic opposition, sanction pressure, etc.); In addition to dealing with, it is necessary to predict the problems facing a few years later. " This task is that the GRFC staff is "VEPR" for "AS VEPR" for comprehensive analysis of media materials and searching for information tension on global Internet, and "VEPR" is "Vepr" in Russian. It has been performed for one year by a project called "wild boar".

As planned by Roskomnadzor, VEPR should first focus on:

Protests and facts on the instability of Russian society (for example, territorial conservation, ethnic hatred, immigration policy, etc.);

Negative attitudes for national dignified people, national organizations, and par t-time organizations;

"Fake" on the national and national organizations, negative attitudes, the nation and the whole country;

Public opinion operations and social polarization (for example, topics for no n-systematic opposition, sanctions pressure, etc.); Not only, it is necessary to predict the problem facing a few years later, "he emphasized. This task is that the GRFC staff is "VEPR" for "AS VEPR" for comprehensive analysis of media materials and searching for information tension on global Internet, and "VEPR" is "Vepr" in Russian. It has been performed for one year by a project called "wild boar".

As planned by Roskomnadzor, VEPR should first focus on:

Protests and facts on the instability of Russian society (for example, territorial conservation, ethnic hatred, immigration policy, etc.);

Negative attitudes for national dignified people, national organizations, and par t-time organizations;

"Fake" on the national and national organizations, negative attitudes, the nation and the whole country;

Public opinion operations and social polarization (for example, topics, sanctions on no n-regulated opposition, etc.);

Descent and credit of "traditional values".

100 topics that VEPR should track

GRFC employees have made a report on many of these topics with a hal f-handed manner. ROSKOMNADZOR plans to shift most of these tasks to VEPR. The topic description is as described in the leak document.

Intentionally false information on the Internet about special military operations (authorities used by authorities to "War" instead of "War")

2. Destruction of social infrastructure.

3. The killing of civilians.

4. Call for protest.

5. Loss of personnel and equipment.

6. Russian economic crisis

7. Mass mobilization in Russia).

8. Putin's crisis health condition.

9. Conspiracy theory related to superstition and fortun e-telling.

10. POWs

11. A humanitarian catastrophe in eastern Ukraine.

12. Abuse and killing Ukrainian POWs.

13. Russian military soldiers refused to participate in the special military operation.

“A sense of being part of something big”

14. Use as a "cannon bait" of ethnic minorities.

15. Send a conscription to the front line. Fake News on the Internet: 16. The artificial origin of Coronavirus.

17. Russian vaccine inefficiency and harmfulness for colonovirus.

18. Ant i-vaccine colleagues based on evidence of medical care.

“MIR”: even more control

Legal responsibility for publications on the Internet:

19. Started criminal and administrative lawsuit against citizens for publications on the Internet.

International cooperation:

20. Discussion on SCO activities.

21. Discussion on EAEU activities

22. Discuss about BRICS activities
Liberation area Agenda
23. Kelson area
Cosak
27. Condition of modern Cosak.
28. Cosak problem council
29. Cosak (general literature).

30. Cosak participation in special military operations.

Breaking news about Roscom Nazol:

31. Roscom Nazol (general reference material).

Russian society instability:	32. Religious conflict	33. LGBT propaganda	34. Activities of no n-traditional religious groups	37. Sanctions pressure
38. Legalization of soft drugs	39. The distortion of the history of World War II.	40. Activities of foreign NGOs	41. Influence across the border of neighboring countries
42. Promotion of sexual "freedom".	39. The distortion of the history of World War II.	44. Criticism of the traditional religion of the Russian Federation and its organizations.	45. Hearing of extremist hatred
46. Criticism of the standard of living in Russia, comparing it with that in Western Europe.	39. The distortion of the history of World War II.	48. Imposition of tolerance	49. Cosmopolitanism, humiliation of Russian culture.	50. Condemnation of aggressive foreign policy towards the Russian Federation, criticism of foreign policy directions (Georgia, Africa, Latin America, North Korea, Iran, Syria, Libya, etc.).
51. Criticism of the environmental situation in the country.	39. The distortion of the history of World War II.	53. Criticism of Russian healthcare.	54. Criticism of the Russian law enforcement system.
Monitoring illegal information:	39. The distortion of the history of World War II.	56. Project. Media (mentioned).	57. Promotion of drug use and its normative nature.
58. Distribution of extremist and terrorist materials	39. The distortion of the history of World War II.	60. Activity of all social networks of the Russian-language network of RFE/RL sites.	61. Activity of foreign mass media websites acting as foreign agents (may include new ones).

62. Social network activity of foreign mass media acting as foreign agents (may include new ones).

63. Attacks against the information structures of the Russian Federation.

“Oculus”: recognizing anti-government demonstrations photos, memes with Putin, and men wearing makeup

64. Insiders (distribution of content on social networks).

65. Insiders (distribution of content on websites and media).

66. Monitoring of extremist content

67. Calls to extremist action

68. Distribution of materials on MBKh, Open Russia, FBK (social networks).

69. Distribution of materials on MBKh, Open Russia, FBK (mass media).

70. Violation of election laws

71. Monitoring the activities of the entire network of A. Navalny's supporters.

72. Allegations of school shootings. Romanticization of Columbine.

73. Distribution of child pornography.

74. Distribution of suicide content. "Sinii Kit", etc.

75. Leaking of personal information Nationalism:

76. Nationalist organizations

77. Citizen dissatisfaction with the migration policy of the Russian Federation.

78. Problems with learning the national language

79. Tensions with Chinese citizens

“100 violation cards per day minimum.” How existing monitoring systems work

80. Migrant rapists

81. Ethnic conflicts

82. Activities of Crimean Tatars and their organizations on the territory of the Russian Federation.

Survival of negative information about the Russian Federal President V. Putin

83. Insulting President

84. Criticism of the Russian Federal President.

Surveillance of opposition

85. Protest (social network)

86. Protest (mass media)

87. Emotions _ Southern Federal District.

Kribrum

88. Emotion _ Central Federal District.

Brand Analytics

90. Ural Federal District.

MIPT

91. Emotion_Siberian Federal District.

E.Soft

92. North Caucasus Federal District.

Vector IKS

93. Senments _ Northwest Federation Ward.

Eksikyushn RDC

94. Emotion_ Volga Federal District.

Yandex

96. Emotions _ Far East Renzo Ward.

97. Sentment Moscow

Other topics 98. Promotion of VPN service.

99. Diffusion of information about phishing sites

“A great excuse to steal from the budget”

100. Organizing DDOS attacks on resources in large companies and Russian companies

101. Providing funds to the Ukrainian army.

According to Vepur's technical documents, it is necessary to accurately grasp these fields because of the "task of taking the initiative of information." [In the mi d-1980s experience in the Soviet Union (s o-called Pelestroika), it indicates that if the tension of information is activated and intentionally promoted, it tends to grow rapidly. In order to respond to the threat, complete information on each point of information tension is required to secure a quick decisio n-making process. "

Who is VEPR protected to work on topics (for example, Vladimir Putin), who violates the ban (for example, independent survey journalists), and what specific threats are violators It is necessary to know whether it is created (for example, reporting socially important information about the president that the president is trying to conceal). As described in the technical document, "when developing, the model of the threat and the violator is based on the agreement between the FSB (Federal Guard) and the FSTEC (Federal Technology Export Management Bureau)." President Russian President V. Putin monitoring negative information

83. Insulting President

By November 2022, 74 % of the Zapolizian media and 63 % of the Kelson media were labeled by the GRFC staff. All other media were already blocked or blocked. In addition to traditional media, Russian censorship has monitored the cit y-specific social network group and the local residents' social network messages.
86. Protest (mass media)

Elim Poon - Journalist, Creative Writer

Last modified: 27.08.2024

the Russian government's mass media agency Roskomnadzor has ordered all media to only use information provided by official state sources while covering Russia's. There are additional indications that the Kremlin may now be seeking to strengthen its control over the information space and further cut Russia. 1 A hallmark of Vladimir Putin's regime is the use of mass surveillance technology to suppress democracy and violate human rights and freedoms.2 The Kremlin has.

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