Telegram Founder’s Arrest Could Cripple Russian Army’s Information Sharing

The Russian military is worried that the arrest of Telegram founder, Pavel Durov in Paris could cripple the real-time intelligence sharing mechanism that Russian forces currently rely on using the Telegram platform.

“The arrest of (Telegram chat system founder) Durov is equivalent to the arrest of the chief of communications of the Russian army,” - the head of the Center for the Development of Transport Technologies of the Russian Federation Alexey Rogozin was quoted as saying on Telegram.

"The transfer of intelligence, artillery adjustment, broadcasting of video streams from copters and much more are really carried out very often today by means of Telegram," said Alexey Rogozin.

According to "Russian Arms", a popular Telegram account covering the Russian military, “this means that any access to critical accounts, and especially the server architecture used by the messenger, by French, British and American specialists, is fraught with the leak of tactically important information, covering both logistics issues and tactics of reconnaissance and strike complexes in certain operational areas. Obviously, a huge number of successfully developed templates can be subject to careful processing.”

However, a report in Russian publication, Izveztia said that Telegram will definitely continue to function normally for now, but in the long term, various problems may arise with its operation. This could include blocking in EU countries or banning a number of individual functions. Experts predict stagnation in the development of the messenger and related products if the trial against Pavel Durov drags on. 

Izvestia quoted Russia  IT journalist Rustam Bagrimov as saying that the Telegram functionality  is provided by an entire company, and it does not require a "special button" from Durov.

“The European Union can ban the messenger only in its own borders,” the expert said adding that there is no reason to worry about the safety of user data, since it is not physically stored in France.”

Durov’s arrest

Durov a French-Russian dual citizen was arrested on August 24 when he arrived in Paris on his private jet on a refueling stop. One version says says his jet was forced to land and a warrant for his arrest issued within minutes.

The Telegram founder is being held under charges that include terrorism, money laundering, fraud, drug trafficking, and distribution of pedophile content. The charges may be related to the fact that the people committing these crimes used the messenger created by Durov.