Manual Internet monitoring by Roskomnadzor revealed

Russia’s Internet watchdog has become a kind of Internet intelligence agency, according to a report in the New York Times. Leaked data suggests that the watchdog meticulously monitors the Internet manually, compiling information and logging connections to events in the analog world.

700 GB leaked

The detailed New York Times report is based on 700 GB of leaked data, including numerous videos and screenshots logging the regulator’s work. In its report, the New York Times mainly picked up on some individual cases that can be understood as representative of the approach, impact and scope (in the context) of Roskomnadzor’s Internet surveillance.

Detailed logging of activities

For example, the data includes a dossier on a media organization of Russian students that published a video in January 2021 calling for criticism of Vladimir Putin. Roskomnadzor logged the video’s publication and shortly thereafter noted that it was added to a list of “prohibited information.” It is also recorded that the video was taken offline and that the student organization subsequently filed a lawsuit. In April 2021, as Roskomnador noted, there was a coordinated action by the Russian police to storm the premises of the student organization and the homes of its employees. Those involved were also punished with house arrest and an Internet ban. Roskomnadzor’s data also shows that the organization’s website remained online – until a guide to talking about the war was published on it after the Russian war of aggression began. Roskomnadzor had the site blocked and the file was closed.

Roskomnadzor also kept a detailed record of the case of a woman protesting the war in Ukraine. Thus, the supervisory authority manually compiled all social media posts and comments on the protest of the person concerned. The arrest of those concerned was also noted.

The file on the monitoring of a local news site critical of the government looks quite similar. This was permanently monitored. Changes were continuously noted in the file. Furthermore, the logs show that local companies were urged not to post advertisements on the affected site.

The data also contains information on opinion leaders in various Russian regions, as well as estimates of reactions to analogous events that took place on the Internet. These were often recorded in bullet points. Regarding an arrest, for example, it says that the situation is “calm, with some small hot spots of tension.”

From Supervisory Authority to Secret Service

But it is not only information on those under surveillance that can be found in abundance. The leak also shows that Roskomnadzor meticulously documented its own actions. Employees continuously made screenshots of their work. In some cases, screens were also filmed while monitoring activities were being carried out.

Overall, the data show that Roskomnadzor has transformed itself from a supervisory authority into a secret service. In addition to the meticulous surveillance activities, it should also be noted here that the agency often forwarded findings directly to Russia’s domestic intelligence service, the FSB.