Updated August 26, 2024 at 6:10 p.m.
-Analysis-
KYIV — Since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Telegram has become one of the world’s most recognizable tech companies. Nearly one million users in Ukraine installed the app in the month after the Feb. 24, 2022 invasion, and currently, 88% of Ukrainians use it regularly. Today, Telegram serves as a vital source of news, missile warnings, volunteer coordination, and uncensored battlefield updates, all accessible on mobile devices.
The arrest in Paris on Saturday of Telegram’s founder Pavel Durov is the latest controversy surrounding the Telegram messaging app. French authorities had issued an arrest warrant as part of a judicial investigation looking into the use of the platform for drug trafficking, money laundering and crime organization. But it also raises new questions in the ongoing mystery about the relationship between the billion-dollar tech company and Russian authorities.
The Kremlin said Sunday that it dit not know what Durov was accused of, while the Russian embassy said French authorities were “refusing to cooperate” after requesting access to him. While the founder had declared in April that Telegram was not a “player in geopolitics,” the app, which now registers some 950 million monthly users, plays a key role in spreading information — and misinformation — about the Ukrainian conflict.
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But is it sensible to trust a tool that, despite what its founder says, has deep ties to the Russian state?
World War II lessons
For starters, history may offer clues. During World War II, radio communication was vulnerable to interception, and prompted the use of encryption to safeguard sensitive information such as battle plans and orders. The Enigma machine, utilized by Adolf Hitler’s Germany and Japan, generated complex ciphers thought to be unbreakable, giving the Nazis confidence in transmitting classified data.
Despite initial difficulties, the Allies eventually managed to decipher the German code, but kept this achievement secret to maintain the advantage. Sacrifices were made, with the British intentionally allowing some attacks on convoys based on decrypted intercepts to avoid tipping off the enemy.
By strategically leveraging their decrypted intelligence, the British gained a comprehensive understanding of the battlefield, enabling them to hasten the defeat of Nazism and bring about victory in the war earlier than anticipated.
The closed MTProto encryption protocol, which Telegram uses, has a murky financial history, and the ongoing ties of its top management with Russia raise doubts about the messenger’s claimed “super reliability.”
Durov’s distance
Given these associations, Telegram could potentially serve as a modern-day “Enigma” operation orchestrated by Russian intelligence services. This raises concerns about whether the Kremlin will utilize the messenger, boasting 800 million users, as a tool in its conflict against Ukraine, and potentially in a broader global hybrid war aimed at spreading backward ideology and destabilizing the West.
Pavel Durov, the messaging platform’s founder, has publicly distanced himself from any association with the Russian authorities, presenting himself as a victim of the Putin regime. This stems partly from his stance in 2014 when he refused to comply with Russian security forces’ requests for personal data of Ukrainian Vkontakte (Russian Facebook) users, resulting in the network’s seizure by the Kremlin.
Durov stopped short of condemning Russia’s actions, referring to the conflict as “tragic.”
Control of Vkontakte subsequently passed through various entities linked to the Russian government, culminating in its full control by Kremlin-associated figures by December 2021. Specifically, the controlling stake in VK, which runs Vkontakte, was reported to be acquired by the Sogaz group, whose owners include Vladimir Putin’s close friend Yuriy Kovalchuk, his nephew Mykhailo Shelomov, and Gazprom. Additionally, a significant stake belongs to the Russian state company “Rostec,” led by Putin’s former KGB comrade Serhii Chemezov. Foreigners were removed from the company’s board of directors in March 2022, solidifying Kremlin control over Vkontakte.
Despite leaving Russia years ago and holding citizenship in France, the UAE, and St. Kitts and Nevis, Durov’s connections to Russia continue to raise questions. Following the 2022 invasion, Durov emphasized user privacy as a priority for Telegram, despite his past ties to Russia. However, he stopped short of condemning Russia’s actions, referring to the conflict as “tragic.”
Concerns also persist due to Telegram team members’ potential ties to Russia, including familial connections, and their interactions with Russian politicians. This, cybersecurity experts believe, maintains Russia’s influence over Durov’s team.
Role of the Oligarchs
Determining Telegram’s funding sources is a challenging task due to its private investor model. However, some individuals and organizations linked to the company’s funding have been frequently mentioned in the media.
Notably, among the investors in Telegram’s TON (Telegram Open Network) cryptocurrency were Russians David Yakobashvili and oligarch Roman Abramovich, both with close ties to the Kremlin. Additionally, Arab funds, known for their collaboration with Russians, have also invested in Telegram. Two UAE-based investment funds, Mubadala and Abu Dhabi Catalyst Partners (a collaboration between Mubadala and Falcon Edge Capital), purchased 0 million worth of Telegram bonds.
Mubadala, in particular, has a significant investment history in Russia, including ventures in Pulkovo Airport, SIBUR, En+, and Gazprom Neft projects. Despite announcing a suspension of investments in Russia after the Ukrainian invasion, Mubadala’s top manager stated the fund’s continued global investment aspirations, maintaining Telegram in its portfolio alongside other Russian entities.
An intriguing development occurred when Russian authorities wrote off fines previously imposed on Telegram and Western tech firms in early 2024. While Telegram denied knowledge of this, and indeed lacks a physical presence in Russia, connections persist through financial ties, technological resources and personnel. Thus, Russia continues to find ways to invest in Telegram despite apparent obstacles.
Telegram uses only companies of Russian origin for traffic transmission networks. Network traffic is the amount of data that moves over a network over a period of time. Any application that we use on the Internet (like Telegram) must transmit data packets over the network in order to function accordingly. Network administrators can control traffic — prioritize and even monitor.
9 years ago I defended the private data of Ukrainians from the Russian government — and lost my company and my home. I would do it again without hesitation. https://t.co/GUFCjbqDc5
— Pavel Durov (@durov) March 7, 2022
Channel interference
In January 2024, the monitoring group of a Ukrainian Armed Forces unit observed instances of external interference in Telegram channels in the occupied cities of Berdyansk, Melitopol, and Mariupol. Information regarding Russian casualties, equipment damage, and military losses was obtained from these channels, where entire posts, photos, videos, and comments were deleted without the knowledge of channel administrators.
During an operation in Bryansk in May 2023, where the Ukrainian Air Force destroyed five Russian air crews in five minutes, local Telegram channels ceased discussions. It remains unclear whether this cessation was due to external interference or initiated by channel administrators.
Telegram in a war zone exposes users to potential Russian access to geolocation, multimedia and correspondence history.
Similarly, during Yevgeny Prigozhin’s rebellion in Moscow, only three out of 15 monitored “Wagner” channels were operational, coinciding with Telegram malfunctions across Russia.
Using Telegram in a war zone exposes users to potential Russian access to geolocation, multimedia, and correspondence history, including deleted content. Russian authorities have openly acknowledged this capability, with a leading Russian TV channel reporting access to deleted Telegram correspondence of detained Ukrainians by Russian security forces in late 2023.
Recently, the Ukrainian cyber specialist community DC8044 announced its transition from Telegram to another platform due to concerns about the messenger’s questionable jurisdiction and its connections to the Kremlin. The President of Ukraine, the Air Force, the State Emergency Service, the Center for Strategic Communications under the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, along with other state organizations, have initiated the development of their own channels on WhatsApp and other platforms.
This shift marks a growing trend. Using a Russian information product is now likened to playing with rigged cards, especially in times of war, posing significant national security concerns.
*Originally published January 31, 2024, this article was updated August 26, 2024 with news of Pavel Durov’s arrest in Paris.
