俄羅斯建立強大間諜網絡 欲全面監聽索契冬奧會

Research by Andrei Soldatov and Irina Borogan, two Russian investigative journalists who specialise in covering the security services, reveals a picture of near-total surveillance, Soldatov said.

The Russian authorities have gone to great lengths to lay on the best communications support any Olympic event has seen at the February games, including 4G coverage and free WiFi throughout the city of Sochi.

But Soldatov and Borogan's research indicates that the internet, telephone and other communications providers involved are obliged to build networks in such a way that the security services have full and unimpeded access.

“There is an element of meta-data gathering, but Russian security services are not so interested in meta-data. This is about content,” Soldatov told The Telegraph, citing an “information security concept” document laying out these measures. “The idea seems to be to make communications in Sochi totally transparent for the Russian authorities.”

The monitoring programme, which is run by the Federal Security Service, Russia’s internal security agency and the main successor to the KGB, is aided by software that helps identify key words and phrases of interest being used in electronic communications. “It is a very useful way of knowing who in a given region is talking about Navalny, for example,” said Soldatov, referring to a Russian opposition leader.

An FSB statement and other documents also revealed that the FSB and the Russian interior ministry have both acquired two kinds of drones for surveillance during the games, he added, as well as a vast network of closed circuit television in the city.

While the measures bear some resemblance to security at the Beijing Olympics, Soldatov said that taken together it is probably the most comprehensive surveillance in Olympic history. Drones had been considered for surveillance at the London Olympics, but were not used in the event.

Soldatov said the depth of surveillance was so comprehensive that the US State Department has advised its citizens “that it would be better to forget your laptop or smart phone in your home country, because it will be intercepted.”

The measures are ostensibly aimed at securing Sochi against possible terrorist attacks during the games. Sochi neighbours Russia’s turbulent North Caucasus, where federal forces are fighting a long-running Islamist separatist insurgency. Doku Umarov, a rebel leader who has claimed responsibility for a number of suicide bombings in Moscow in recent years, has called on his followers to attack the games.

In August Vladimir Putin signed a decree establishing restricted zones around the city and banning public demonstrations for the duration of the game.

Earlier this week an FSB spokesman told reporters that security would be unintrusive compared to the London Olympics.

But Soldatov said the nature of the measures and key personnel appointments suggested other priorities.

The chief of Olympic Security, for example, is Oleg Syromolotov, the head of FSB Counter Intelligence – a spy catcher rather than a counter terrorism expert.

“Taken together, it looks to me like these people still see the main threat to the Olympics coming not from the North Caucasus, but from outside the country,” said Soldatov.

The research, part of a joint investigation with the Guardian newspaper, is part of a wider project looking at Russian surveillance practices.

The research is not yet complete and the full report has yet to be published, Soldatov said.

No one at the FSB was immediately available to comment on Sunday evening.10月6日，2014年索契冬奧會聖火由雅典抵達莫斯科。當天下午，伴隨着俄羅斯國歌，俄總統普京手持火炬點燃紅場火炬臺後致辭：“俄羅斯和俄羅斯人民一直秉承開放、友好的優秀品質，索契是舉辦奧運會的理想地點。”

然而種種跡象顯示，俄羅斯尤其是索契，並沒有普京口中所說的如此開放：冬奧會期間，在索契這個黑海海濱城市，將建立起奧運史上最全面的監控網絡，以至於美國國務院建議國民前往索契觀看冬奧會時，把智能手機和筆記本電腦留在家中，防止個人信息外泄。

***監控網絡“幾乎完全覆蓋”

俄羅斯調查記者安德烈•索爾達托夫和伊琳娜•博羅甘專攻安全服務領域報道。兩人查閱多份政府採購文件、採訪參與索契冬奧會項目招標的通信公司後發現，俄羅斯政府正在索契構築一張“幾乎完全覆蓋”的監控網絡。

自獲得2014年冬季奧運會舉辦權後，俄羅斯當局一直不遺餘力地向舉辦城市索契提供最好的通信支持，其中包括在當地實現4G通信網絡和免費無線網絡全覆蓋。但是，索爾達托夫和博羅甘的調查結果顯示，參與索契冬奧會項目的互聯網、電話和其他通訊提供商不得不採取一種特別的方式，即保證俄羅斯安全機構享有充分的、暢通無阻的訪問權限，來構建其通訊網絡。

“其中包括元數據收集，但俄羅斯安全機構對元數據並不是特別感興趣，他們感興趣的是內容。”索爾達托夫引用一份“信息安全概念”文件向英國《每日電訊報》闡述俄羅斯安全機構採取的措施，“他們的想法似乎是，令索契的通訊對俄羅斯當局完全透明。”

據悉，這個監控項目是由俄羅斯聯邦安全局（FSB）負責運營，使用一種軟件幫助識別他們關注的、在電子通訊中使用的關鍵字和短語。索爾達托夫舉例說：“如果想要在某個特定區域，知道誰在談論納瓦爾尼（俄羅斯反對派領導人），這是一種非常有效的方法。”他還補充道，俄羅斯聯邦安全局發佈的一份聲明和其他文件顯示，該局和俄羅斯內政部均要求部署兩種類型的無人機在冬奧會期間執行監控任務，並且還會在索契市內安裝一個龐大的閉路電視網絡。

“這些措施全部加在一起，就可能成爲奧運會歷史上最全面的監控網絡了。”索爾達托夫說，由於深度監控如此廣泛，致使美國國務院建議國民“（前往索契觀看冬奧會時）最好把你的智能手機或者筆記本電腦放在家裏，因爲其中的數據將會遭到攔截。”

***目的是防範恐怖襲擊？

表面上，俄羅斯當局在索契構建如此嚴密的監控網絡，其目的是保護索契在冬奧會期間免遭恐怖襲擊。索契毗鄰俄羅斯北高加索地區，那裏衝突不斷，活躍着不少伊斯蘭分裂主義叛亂分子。其中，一個名爲多庫•烏馬羅夫的叛軍首領近年來在莫斯科製造了多起自殺式爆炸襲擊事件，他呼籲其支持者攻擊索契冬奧會。今年8月，俄羅斯總統普京簽署一項法令，在索契市內設立多個禁區，禁止人們冬奧會期間在這些區域內舉行公共示威。

本週早些時候，俄羅斯聯邦安全局一名發言人告訴媒體，與2012年倫敦夏季奧運會相比，2014年索契冬奧會的安全措施“不具侵入性”。然而，索爾達托夫指出，俄羅斯當局採取安全措施的本質，以及關鍵人員任命，透露出截然不同的意思。

索爾達托夫和博羅甘發現，俄羅斯聯邦安全局自2010年起開始升級SORM系統，以確保其能夠應付冬奧會期間觀賽遊客帶來的額外通訊流量。SORM系統是俄羅斯官方對互聯網信息進行監控的網絡監控系統，要求所有電話和互聯網服務供應商必須強制安裝。安裝之後，俄羅斯聯邦安全局能夠在服務商不知情的情況下獲取數據，這意味着所有電話和網絡通訊數據都可被記錄在案。

此外，索契冬奧會的安全保衛工作主管由奧列格•索羅莫洛托夫擔任，此人是一名頂尖的間諜捕手而非反恐專家。“綜上所述，在我看來，這些人（俄羅斯當局）仍舊認爲，索契冬奧會面臨的主要威脅不是來自北高加索，而是來自境外，”索爾達托夫說。

截至目前，俄羅斯聯邦安全局尚未對上述報道作出迴應。