Categories: Cyber CrimeIntelligenceSocial Networks

Public Tender for an Internet Content Monitoring System, really strange.

Few days ago I have partecipated to an open discussion started by Stefano Mele, a security and cyber-terrorism expert, on the development of Internet Content Monitor System by the Soviet government.

In April, the “Russian Federal Service for Supervision Telecoms” has announced it that it has launched a tender for developing a Content Monitor System with a budget of $ 530,000. Following the tender the development phase was started in august and have to be completed in December. After an initial amazement is legitimate to ask the following questions?

What is a Internet Content Monitor System and what is its real purpose?
Why lead a public tender for the development of such systems? Governments and agencies of many countries already have similar platforms that are used to analyze web behaviour of their citiziens and the relationships between them. Sometimes such systems can be used for genuine political and propaganda to influence the common sentiment on particular issues.
What are the risks related to a wrong usage?

Let us proceed by steps:

But what are they and what are these control platforms?

The system, according to official statements of government representatives, will be used for content analysis of online media outlets. Of course, systems with these characteristics can be used for the other purposes allowing the monitoring of any action or form of protest that can be expression of dissent against the government. The system must be able to analyze information composed by text and also pictures and videos on subjects which could be used to affect the subconscious mind with subliminal messages or similar.

Why lead a public tender for the development of such systems?

It is difficult to understand the real reasons. Why issue a public tender? The assumptions may be different and imaginative:

using the public tender to justify financial flows to an entity in some way related to the government and toward which he is unable to transfer money in a different way.
The system may has been already realized and the official message formalizes its existence, a psychological operation to communicate to Russian citizens a specific message “pay attention, we’re monitoring you and we have the technology to do this”.

What are the risks related to a wrong usage?

The main risk is the use of the system that can be used to monitor all the “unofficial” media sites like blogs, forums and everything online. The risk of couse have no borderline, Russian or not, the threat is real. Anyway the event is the demostration of a high interest of all the government on the new form of communication used in internet.

Official links:

Here you can find (in russian) the public tender, with all the details of the project:

More info regarding the project here

Pierluigi Paganini

Pierluigi Paganini is member of the ENISA (European Union Agency for Network and Information Security) Threat Landscape Stakeholder Group and Cyber G7 Group, he is also a Security Evangelist, Security Analyst and Freelance Writer. Editor-in-Chief at "Cyber Defense Magazine", Pierluigi is a cyber security expert with over 20 years experience in the field, he is Certified Ethical Hacker at EC Council in London. The passion for writing and a strong belief that security is founded on sharing and awareness led Pierluigi to find the security blog "Security Affairs" recently named a Top National Security Resource for US. Pierluigi is a member of the "The Hacker News" team and he is a writer for some major publications in the field such as Cyber War Zone, ICTTF, Infosec Island, Infosec Institute, The Hacker News Magazine and for many other Security magazines. Author of the Books "The Deep Dark Web" and “Digital Virtual Currency and Bitcoin”.