Photo: Mauritz Antin / EPA-EFE

Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) has learned to intercept messages sent by Russians to bots or feedback accounts associated with certain Ukrainian Telegram channels, potentially exposing anyone communicating with such outlets to treason charges, Russian human rights NGO First Department warned on Friday.

Russia’s principal domestic intelligence agency has gained access to correspondence made with Ukrainian Telegram channels including Crimean Wind and Vision Vishnun, according to First Department, which said that the FSB’s hacking of Ukrainian Telegram channels had come about during a 2022 investigation into the Ukrainian intelligence agencies “gathering information that threatens the security of the Russian Federation” via messengers and social networks including Telegram.

The case is being handled by the FSB’s investigative department, though no suspects or defendants have been named in the case, according to First Department.

When the FSB identifies individual Russian citizens who have communicated with or transmitted funds to certain Ukrainian Telegram channels, it contacts the FSB office in their region, which then typically opens a criminal case for treason against the implicated person.

“We know that by the time the defendants in cases of ‘state treason’ are detained, the FSB is already in possession of their correspondence. And the fact that neither defendants nor a lawyer are named in the main case allows the FSB to hide how exactly it goes about gaining access to that correspondence,” First Department said.

First Department stressed that their findings highlighted the various security risks inherent in using Telegram for confidential communication, especially in cases where the contents of such private messages could result in criminal charges.

Dmitry Zair-Bek, the head of First Division, said that materials from Telegram have already been used as evidence in “a significant number of cases”, adding that “in most cases, they have been accessed due to compromised devices. … However, there are also cases in which no credible technical explanations consistent with known access methods can be identified.”

“This could indicate either the use of undisclosed cyber espionage tools or Telegram’s cooperation with the Russian authorities, obvious signs of which we see in a number of other areas," Zair-Bek continued.