sorm-surveillance-system

Part II of 'The Red Web' outlines key episodes and mechanisms in Russia's digital surveillance and control landscape, including the Snowden revelations, Putin's international cyber strategies, and the pervasive monitoring apparatus symbolized by the SORM system. The chapter situates Russia's digital evolution as a tension between authoritarian control inherited from the Soviet era and the rise of a digitally connected, information-hungry population, highlighting the ongoing struggle over the future of the Internet both within Russia and globally.

Chapter 4, "The Black Box," recounts how Vika Egorova received leaked documents revealing a secret government policy requiring Russian ISPs to install SORM devices, enabling the FSB to eavesdrop on Internet communications. The chapter details how libertarian activist Anatoly Levenchuk publicized the leak, launched a campaign against the surveillance system, and exposed the lack of industry resistance to the FSB's invasive measures. It also contextualizes SORM's evolution from Soviet-era telephone tapping to comprehensive digital surveillance, highlighting the security services' unchecked power and use of kompromat.

Chapter 12 details the authors' visit to the University of Toronto's Citizen Lab to investigate Russian surveillance preparations for the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics. They uncover the deployment and upgrading of the FSB's SORM surveillance system, designed to covertly intercept all communications, and discuss the implications of combining traditional Soviet-era counterintelligence methods with modern digital surveillance technologies. The chapter also highlights the increasing scale of Russian electronic surveillance, the secrecy surrounding it, and international concerns exemplified by a US State Department warning to Olympic attendees.

Chapter 4, "The Black Box," provides a detailed examination of the origins, development, and operational mechanisms of SORM, the Russian state surveillance system. Drawing on interviews, official documents, and historical accounts, the chapter traces SORM's technical evolution from KGB research institutes in the 1980s through its institutionalization under Russian law and its pervasive use in modern digital surveillance. It also contextualizes SORM within broader practices of state espionage, referencing historical precedents such as the bugging of the US Embassy and comparisons to Stasi wiretapping.