Russia Boasts of Encryption Keys for Popular Social Messaging Apps

August 25, 2016

If Russia’s Federal Security Service is to be believed, they have devised a way to break through the encryption on some of the world’s biggest messaging apps. The International Business Times reports, “Russia Now Collecting Encryption Keys to Decode Information from Facebook, WhatsApp, and Telegram.” The initiative appears to be a response to pressure from the top; columnist Mary Ann Russon writes:

“In June, Russia passed a scary new surveillance law that demanded its security agencies find a way to conduct better mass surveillance, requiring all internet firms who provide services to citizens and residents in Russia to provide mandatory backdoor access to encrypted communications so the Russian government can know what people are talking about. If any of these internet companies choose not to comply, the FSB has the power to impose fines of up to 1 million rubles (£11,406)….

The article continued:

“The FSB has now updated its website declaring that it has indeed been able to procure a method to collect these encryption keys, although, cryptically, the agency isn’t saying how exactly it will be doing so. The notice on the FSB website simply declares that in order to ensure public safety and protect against terrorism, the FSB has found a ‘procedure of providing the FSB with a method necessary for decoding all received, sent, delivered, and chat conversations between users on messaging networks’ and that this method had been sent to the Ministry of Justice to approve and make provisions to amend federal law.”

At least the Russians are not coy about their efforts to spy on citizens. But, is this a bluff? Without the details, it is hard to say. We do know the government is holding out a carrot to foreign messaging companies—they can continue to operate within their borders if they have their services “certified” by a government-approved lab. Hmm. How much is the Russian messaging market worth to these companies? I suppose we shall see.

Cynthia Murrell, August 25, 2016

Written by Stephen E. Arnold · Filed Under News, Security, Social

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Stephen E. Arnold monitors search, content processing, text mining and related topics from his high-tech nerve center in rural Kentucky. He tries to winnow the goose feathers from the giblets. He works with colleagues worldwide to make this Web log useful to those who want to go "beyond search". Contact him at sa [at] arnoldit.com. His Web site with additional information about search is arnoldit.com.