Supreme Court in Russia ruled Telegram must provide FSB encryption keys

A Supreme Court in Russia ruled Telegram must provide the FSB with encryption keys to access users’ messaging data to avoid being blocked.

Bad news for Telegram, a Supreme Court in Russia ruled the company must provide the FSB with encryption keys to access users’ messaging data. If Telegram will refuse to comply the request the authorities will block the service in Russia.

Media watchdog Roskomnadzor asked Telegram to share technical details to access electronic messages shared through the instant messaging app.

Roskomnadzor requested to “provide the FSB with the necessary information to decode electronic messages received, transmitted, or being sent” within 15 days.

In June, Roskomnadzor, the Russian Government threatened to ban the popular instant messaging app because the company refused to be compliant with the country’s new data protection laws. In July, the company agreed to register with Russia authorities to avoid the local ban, but it did not share user data.

Telegram appealed against the ruling, but the Supreme Court rejected the request of the company.

Telegram founder Pavel Durov labeled the FSB request as “technically impossible to carry out” and unconstitutional, then he left Russia in September 2017 in response to the request of the FSB.

In July, Russia’s Duma approved the bill to prohibit tools used to surf outlawed websites

Russian authorities requested private firms operating in the country to provide the FSB with information on user activities, all the data related to Russian users must be stored in local servers according to anti-terror legislation that passed in 2016.

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Pierluigi Paganini

(Security Affairs – instant messaging, Russia)

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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”.