Anonymous leaked 128GB of data stolen from Russian ISP Convex revealing FSB’s warrantless surveillance

The
popular
collective
Anonymous
has
leaked
128
GB
of
data
allegedly
stolen
from
the
Russian
Internet
Service
Provider
Convex.

The
collective
Anonymous
released
last
week
128
gigabytes
of
documents
that
were
allegedly
stolen
from
the
Russian
Internet
Service
Provider
Convex.
The
huge
trove
of
data
was
leased
by
an
affiliate
of
Anonymous’s
affiliate
group
called
Caxxii.

The
stolen
documents
contain
evidence
of
a
dragnet
surveillance
activity
conducted
by
the
intelligence
service
FSB.

The
Russian
government
illegally
monitors
citizens
and
private
organizations
across
Russia.

According
to
collecting,
Convex
company
launched
a
project
code-named
‘Green
Atom’
that
aims
to
spy
on
Russian
citizens
by
using
surveillance
equipment.
The
warrantless
surveillance
of
Russian
citizens
violates
the
country’s
laws
and
their
rights.

Such
surveillance
activities
are
classified
as
unauthorized
wiretapping,
espionage,
and
warrantless
surveillance
of
civilians,
which
are
against
the
country’s
laws.

“‘Green
Atom’
(TS
ORM
fsb)
refers
to
the
installation
and
maintenance
of
wide-ranging
surveillance
equipment
that
is
used
to
monitor
the
online
activity
of
all
traffic
in
and
out
of
Convex.”
reads
a

statement
sent
by
Caxxii
to
the Kyiv
Post.”
“This
can
be
classified
as
espionage,
unauthorized
wiretapping,
and
surveillance
of
civilians
without
a
warrant,
which
circumvents
the
laws
of
the
Russian
Federation
and
all
public
statements
of
the
Russian
authorities,”

“They
are
actively
transmitting
data
to
Moscow.
It’s
not
just
preemptive
tapping,”
continues
the
group.

According
to
the
stolen
data,
Convex
employees
were
conducting
the
activity
in
coordination
with
the
Federal
Security
Service.

“Documents
confirming
the
existence
of
this
project,
as
well
as
the
correspondence
of
Convex
employees
with
the
FSB,
are
now
available
not
only
to
us,
but
also
to
you.”
continues
the
group.

Exposed
data
put
Russian
organizations,
whose
data
are
included
in
the
archive,
at
risk
of
hacking.

Stolen
data
were
leaked
through
the
leak
site

DDoSecrets.

“According
to
the
hackers,
the
Green
Atom
data
confirms
the
extent
to
which
these
legal
structures
are
abused.
They
say
the
internet
provider
captured
and
mirrored
virtually
all
data
from
every
switch
in
the
largest
regions
of
Russia,
which
is
then
passed
on
to
Moscow
for
use
by
the
security
services”
states
DDoSecrets.

Russia
is
known
to

conduct
domestic
surveillance
using a
surveillance
system
called

SORM 
(Russian: Система
оперативно-разыскных
мероприятий, lit. ‘System
for
Operative
Investigative
Activities’).

The
Russian
Government
obliges
national
ISPs
to
purchase
and
install
the
probes
used
by
SORM
system
that
allows
the
Federal
Security
Service (FSB) to
monitor
Internet
traffic
including
online
communications.

SORM
is
a
mass
surveillance
system
that
allows
the
Government
of
Moscow
to
track
the
online
activities
of
single
individuals
thanks
to
the
support
of
the
Russian
ISPs.

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me
on
Twitter:


@securityaffairs
and


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and


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Pierluigi Paganini

(SecurityAffairs –
hacking,
Anonymous)

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About Author

AndyC

Andy Curtis is an award-winning security consultant, researcher and public speaker. He has been working in the computer security industry since the early 1990s, having been employed by state and federal government, leading healthcare and banking providers across three continents. He has given talks about computer security for some of the world’s largest companies, worked with law enforcement agencies on investigations into hacking groups, and is a regular voice on TV and radio explaining IT security threats.

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