Cyberwarfare: Media cite internal documents from Russian intelligence training

At the Bauman Moscow State Technical University, students of a secret department are learning how to destabilize Western societies with propaganda or infiltrate computer systems with varying degrees of security. An international research team discovered this and much more by analyzing over 2,000 internal university documents, which “for the first time offer a deep insight into this form of agent training,” as “Der Spiegel” explains. These are internal documents from the so-called “Department 4, Special Training,” which handles training tasks for the military intelligence service GRU. A number of cyberattacks in recent years have been attributed to this department.

Direct influence on training

According to Der Spiegel, the department is responsible for training agents, cyber attackers, and saboteurs for the intelligence service. For this purpose, it is divided into three “military specializations,” of which the “Special Service for Reconnaissance” is responsible for IT training. This involves “information warfare, electronic reconnaissance, and IT-related special skills,” with the GRU having direct influence on the training. According to the documents, the intelligence service sends examiners to exams, defines requirements, and approves candidates. Some highest-ranking individuals in the field of cyber warfare are involved.

In a course on “Defense against Technical Reconnaissance,” students learn, according to the report, “the complete toolbox” of modern cyber warfare in a total of 144 hours over two semesters. This includes, for example, infiltrating foreign computers using password attacks, exploiting security vulnerabilities, or using Trojans. A practical exercise deals with “penetration tests with viruses,” and a module covers “computer viruses and worms.” At the end of the course, students must hack a test server. DDoS attacks are also part of the curriculum. Regarding the use of propaganda, Der Spiegel quotes a practical assignment as follows: “Create a social video for any topic, using manipulation, pressure, and hidden propaganda to promote or debunk a 'hot' topic.”

According to the report, the documents also provide insight into the young men themselves who are being trained at the secret department. For example, some of them allegedly had social media accounts linked to them that suggest an unsuspicious teenage life. However, at Department 4, they probably don't spend all their time in front of the computer; according to the report, the training also includes a one-month training camp that everyone must attend. “Photos show young, sometimes overweight men in camouflage clothing, struggling on climbing bars and doing shooting exercises with a pistol,” writes Der Spiegel about pictures of this part of the training.

Numerous attacks from Russia

Der Spiegel does not state how the media obtained the documents. At the same time, the news magazine points out that intelligence services are increasingly openly recruiting young talent at universities in Germany and other Western countries. However, the connection between the Moscow university and the military intelligence service goes much further. At the same time, the documents provide insight into the background of some devastating cyberattacks that have caused a stir in recent years. For example, Der Spiegel writes that shortly after graduation, one alumnus apparently ended up in a special unit that is said to have been behind the malware NotPetya. This caused global chaos in the summer of 2017.

(mho)