image sourceSputnik
- author, Pavel Aksyonov
- position, BBC Russian Service
Pro-Russian bloggers, experts and Russian journalists have expressed outrage over the arrest of Paul Durov, the founder of the messaging app ‘Telegram’, in France. Meanwhile, there was also discussion about the fact that the Russian military uses Telegram for messaging and its shutdown could be a major problem for the Russian military.
Before Russian forces arrived in Ukraine, it was hard to imagine that a country’s military could become so dependent on a messaging app during a war.
This is in stark contrast to the military’s traditional secret communications systems, which focus on security and stability.
Most social media platforms and messaging apps do not meet the security requirements of military communications because they can only be used over the Internet and do not provide a 100 percent security guarantee.
But it is also a fact that any software developed at the civilian level is more widespread and easier to use.
To prevent the military from using civilian smart phones and messaging apps, special military platforms etc. have to be created which requires a lot of effort. And then the soldiers are taught to use it.
The BBC Russian Service has sought to find out what system the Russian military uses for communications. And what has been the role of other messaging apps and smartphones, including Telegram, during the intervention in Ukraine.
image sourceRussian Defense Ministry/TASS
Russia’s old ineffective radios
Russian military blogger Max Kaskid also has his own Telegram channel. He writes that Telegram gained popularity among the Russian military because the communication system they had was not that good. Conventional radio stations are poorly coordinated and the military lacks modern arrangements for communications.
This is a simple explanation. Communication is a vast and complex subject and the use of telegrams at the tactical level has replaced radios or other wired devices. These means of communication are still used worldwide today.
Modern tactical radios can be quite effective. They protect you from any interception and you can also send data or text messages through them.
Likewise, radio can operate on multiple receivers, and voice message access is faster than text. It plays a key role during combat. For example, shouting on the radio is more effective than sending a message on a group chat.
However, the Russian military desperately needs such radio stations. In the early stages of the intervention in Ukraine, Russian soldiers were using Soviet-era radios that were not very reliable and could be overheard by others.
Many of the Russian military’s radios do not work effectively because they are bought on the civilian market with the help of volunteers, and it would be better if the Ministry of Defense supplied the same type of radio after approval, instead of different types of radios, says Kiskad. have done
image sourceStanislav Krasilnikov/TASS
Use of ‘Telegram’ and ‘Signal’ in War
Therefore, the Ukrainian army has better communication equipment. Radio stations have been built in Ukraine through foreign aid and Western aid.
The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense had already focused on communications well before Russia’s intervention, so the Ukrainian armed forces were better prepared for war. They had modern digital radio stations and the institution had a better communication system.
Although the Ukrainian military often uses messenger apps despite its good equipment, Telegram is always viewed with suspicion here.
Journalist and volunteer Alina Bilaba says that ‘every officer I spoke to in the navy said: only signals.’
She says that the Ukrainian military moved to the signal only in 2022 after Russian intervention. ‘We all connect with each other there. Nothing important is written on a telegram.’
Other sources also confirm this. According to him, the Ukrainian army mostly uses the Signal app and rarely uses the WhatsApp messenger.
However, the BBC Russian service has previously contacted Ukrainian military officials not only by signal but also by telegram.
This does not mean that the app was installed on their smartphone. You can also call Messenger through an Internet web browser.
But the calls on Telegram imply that the armed forces of Ukraine did not ban it during the war.
image sourceYan Dobronosov/Global Images Ukraine
Smartphones on the battlefield
20 years ago the alternative to radio station was ‘wired communication’. It is still used today and has many benefits. It is impossible to hear and requires direct interference on the line. Its signal is transmitted fast and the quality is also good. The modern field telephone TA88 is not so old. It was built in the year 1988.
But this method of communication is difficult because the wires can break. For this, connections have to be made for each individual and repairs have to be made. In a battle where your position is stationary, you can lay wires, but they need to be repaired after shelling.
Communication via radio (and even wired communication) does not require the Internet. It is not available in the front ranks anyway. That’s why Telegram can never replace Walkie Talkie.
But a walkie-talkie is not a substitute for a smart phone that has various apps and messengers for instant message access.
You can send text messages through Telegram and everyone gets them at the same time. So it is not difficult to use it like a walkie talkie. Smartphones are also within everyone’s reach.
With Telegram you can send geolocation, photos, videos and links which is not possible with radio. Imagine how difficult it is to read the coordinates of an area and how much time it takes. Conversely, you can easily share location with your friends.
image sourceReuters
Apart from Messenger, there are many apps used by the army.
Information is provided through electronic maps. These maps can also be used offline and already contain information. They can be used from anywhere, for example for a combat mission or to pursue targets.
Excessive reliance on navigation in smart phones is also not good. For example, on a smartphone, vehicles do not appear to move like objects and can be hit by a missile. Navigator can be used without internet which is more secure.
Military-specific apps have been developed for smartphones over the years. For example, a weapon’s firing range can be calculated and this information can be transmitted to commanders in the field via smartphone.
A smartphone app in Ukraine tracks Russian drones and cruise missiles. Apps were also created in Russia that did not prove to be very useful. But Russia may soon develop such apps after the increase in the use of Ukrainian drones.
Similarly, the top leadership of the military on both sides takes advantage of resources and information on the Internet. There are official instructions for each weapon and military vehicle and techniques are developed based on personal experience.
But as far as communication is concerned, the main thing is the Messenger app. For the Russian army, that’s a telegram.
image sourceGetty Images
Why Telegram?
Moscow City Duma deputy and blogger Andrey Medvedev says Telegram is the main means of communication for the Russian military in the ongoing war in Ukraine. “Perhaps the issue of creating a military messenger for our army today is very important. How long Telegram will last, we do not know and it is difficult to predict.
Telegram is one of many messengers. But why did the Russian army choose it? There is no information about any such decision from the Russian command. But there may be security reasons behind it.
Most of the rest of the apps are American, says Ruben Moradian of cybersecurity company Higgins. This means Ukraine can get information from US servers. Ukraine can get WhatsApp information from Meta, the company that owns Facebook.
Unlike WhatsApp, Telegram itself does not encrypt your chat data. For this you have to start a secret chat. It is impossible to get information from a group chat on Telegram.
They say that if someone accesses Telegram’s server or Telegram itself cooperates with someone, they will only get encrypted messages. 99.99% of group chats are encrypted. The battalion commander will talk to other people only on the group chat.’
According to experts, the possibility of data transfer is low, but it won’t be clear until Telegram founder Dwarf or someone else announces it.
However, any misunderstanding can lead to a lack of trust.
Mikhail Klimrov, head of the Internet Defense Society, told the BBC that the problem with using Telegram is that the Russian military “doesn’t control the transfer of data.” This data passes through servers unknown to them.’
According to him, no one can guarantee the commander that no one else is reading this chat on Telegram. Everyone is ignorant about this.
They say the app was not made for military purposes.
This uncertainty did not just alarm the army. “Officials have been asked to delete official conversations on Telegram,” according to a report by Baza, close to Russian security forces.
“According to the sources, this order was given to senior officials of the Russian Ministry of Defense and businessmen.”
image sourceReuters
Why doesn’t the Russian army make its own messenger?
The Russian military has long sought to develop a new and effective wartime communications system. However, Russian military expert Viktor Murakhovsky writes that there is still no military messenger for Android or iPhone.
He wrote that the Army has at least four messengers for message access, but they require hardware running Linux OS (software) to run them securely.
This means that using a particular messenger will require a particular device and the soldiers will also have to be trained. This problem can be solved but it requires time, money and efforts. Conversely, with one click you can install Telegram on a smartphone.
Many countries have systems in place to control military forces and this is a basic requirement for the future of the military. It collects information from multiple sources on the battlefield, analyzes it through artificial intelligence and commands through digital message access.
The Ukrainian military has a digital control system called Delta. In mid-August, the Ukrainian army introduced it to all units. Inside it, a messenger called Element was created for secret messages. However, how effective it is and how it works, is not known.
image sourceVladimir Smirnov/TASS
Russia, Ukraine and other countries also have military messenger apps that are considered more secure than WhatsApp, Signal, Viber or Telegram.
There is an open-source protocol for this called XMPP (Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol) in which the military can build its own servers and run its own software, Ruben Moradian says.
This secure messaging protocol is also called Jabber and its source code is publicly available.
Mikhail Klimrov believes that the quality of such messengers will not be as good as Telegram, which has been in use for 10 years.
Moreover, it may take the Russian military a long time to develop such software. The Russian Ministry of Defense is not capable of introducing something so complex and important into the army’s communications system.
This will require several approvals, guidelines will be developed and trials will be conducted.
However, if that happens, the plan to introduce the new Messenger into the Russian military will ‘come from within.’
