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Telegram rejects allegations over links to Russian Intelligence

Date:
Thu, 12 Jun 2025 13:53:05 +0000

Description:
"Unauthorized access to any data is impossible," said the provider  rejecting
a new reports allegations.

FULL STORY

Telegram has rejected recent allegations that the popular messaging app may
have ties with Russian Intelligence services. 

This comes as an investigation carried out by the Russian independent
investigative outlet Important Stories (IStories) claims to have found
evidence suggesting Telegram's server infrastructure is under the control of 
a man whose firms have links to Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB). 

While Telegram hasn't issued any public responses at the time of writing, the
company's spokesperson Remi Vaughn told TechRadar: "All Telegram servers are
owned by Telegram and maintained by Telegram employees. Unauthorized access 
to any data is impossible." 

It's worth mentioning that Telegram is one of the few online platforms that
isn't blocked in Russia, meaning that citizens can access it without using 
one of the best VPN services.

What does the investigation say? 

According to the IStories investigation  which was supported by the Organized
Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP)  over 10,000 IP addresses
within Telegram's technical infrastructure are managed by a company 
registered in Antigua and Barbuda called Global Network Management (GNM). 

As per documents from a Florida court case accessed by IStories reporters, 
the owner of this company is a Russian network engineer named Vladimir
Vedeneev, who allegedly told the court that he had been involved in the
installation of Telegram Messenger and further technical support. 

Florida's court documents seem to reveal more details of the relationship
between Vedeneev and Pavel Durov, Telegram's Founder and CEO. This includes
Vedeneev telling the court, "he had the power of attorney to sign documents 
on behalf of Pavel Durov and on behalf of Telegram." 

Telegram also reportedly operates 5,000 IP addresses provided by another St.
Petersburg-based company, Electrontelecom, which IStories said to have found
evidence to be an FSB contractor.

Things get even more intricate as the IStories investigation claims that
Vedeneev is also the founder of GlobalNet, a major Russian backbone telecom
operator, which allegedly controlled Telegram's IP addresses, now managed by
GNM, until 2020. 

"But GlobalNet is not just any network provider. Among its clients is the 
Main Research Computing Center of the Presidential Property Management
Department of Russia (GlavNIVTS). Officially, this organization provides
technical support for President Putins public 'direct line'
question-and-answer events, summits, and other high-level meetings," 
ISStories claims. 

In 2022, GlobalNet launched the first filter and traffic monitoring systems
based on Deep Packet Inspection (DPI) at the request of Roskomnadzor, the
Russian internet watchdog tasked with enforcing online restrictions.

What does Telegram say?

As mentioned earlier, Telegram rejects these accusations. 

In a written comment sent to TechRadar, Telegram's spokesperson Remi Vaughn
said: "As a global company, Telegram has contracts with dozens of different
service providers around the world. However, none of these service providers
have access to Telegram data or sensitive infrastructure. 

"All Telegram servers belong to Telegram and are maintained by Telegram
employees. Unauthorized access to any data is impossible. Throughout its
entire history, Telegram never disclosed any private messages to a third 
party  and its encryption has never been breached." 

A response that, according to IStories reporters , "contradicts facts
established in a US court."

Is Telegram safe to use? 

Launched in 2013, Telegram markets itself "as a messaging app with a focus on
speed and security." 

Its Founder and CEO, Pavel Durov, is a Russian-born billionaire, popular 
among free speech fighters for refusing to give away Telegram's users'
identities to law enforcement requests. 

Some countries have blocked access to Telegram over the years for this 
reason, with France issuing an arrest warrant against him for illicit
activities that occurred on the platform. Yet, the company is one of the few
mainstream online platforms still available in Russia at the time of writing. 

That said, Telegram doesn't offer the same level of security as the likes of
Signal and WhatsApp, which encrypt all messages and calls by default. On the
contrary, only Telegram's secret chats are end-to-end encrypted, and users
have to actively turn on this extra protection themselves.

Talking to IStories, Micha "Rysiek" Woniak, a security specialist who used to
work for OCCRP as head of infrastructure and information security, warns that
this system could leave users vulnerable to tracking, even if their messages
remain inaccessible. 

He said: "If I know your devices auth_key_id, and I can listen in on the
network that handles the data  I know it is your specific device 
communicating with Telegram servers. By looking at the network packets  I 
also get your IP address at a given time, which tells me your rough 
geographic location." 

According to Woniak, this could become a real problem if Russian intelligence
services actually have access to Telegram traffic. "A tool for global
surveillance of messenger users, regardless of where they are and what server
they connect to." 

Whether a link between Telegram and the Russian FSB is yet to be confirmed,
the investigation still highlights that protecting the content of
communications isn't enough, as metadata privacy matters , too. I invite
anyone concerned about their privacy to use solutions that minimize metadata
exposure, like Signal and Session .

======================================================================
Link to news story:
https://www.techradar.com/vpn/vpn-privacy-security/telegram-rejects-allegation
s-over-links-to-russian-intelligence

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