Is Telegram, Ukraine’s most popular messenger app, a Russian Trojan horse? (kyivindependent.com)

submitted 2 weeks ago by Beaver@lemmy.ca to c/ukraine@sopuli.xyz

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[-] MrMakabar@slrpnk.net 15 points 2 weeks ago

An initially Russian company, which moved to Dubai, which is most popular by all sorts of right wing Russian propagandists and used by the Russian military. Chances are pretty good that it is controlled by Russia at this point.

If you want a better alternative try Signal or XMPP.

[-] doo@sh.itjust.works 12 points 2 weeks ago

I would be surprised if it's not.

russia tried to take control over it for a while, until

On 18 June 2020, the Russian government lifted its ban on Telegram after it agreed to "help with extremism investigations". https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/telegram-russia-ban-lift-messaging-app-encryption-download-a9573181.html

Which means they have access to all messages.

[-] lazynooblet@lazysoci.al 6 points 2 weeks ago

You speculate that. Don't pass it on like you have proof. Or share the proof.

[-] jmcs@discuss.tchncs.de 7 points 2 weeks ago

There's also the part where they cooperate with Russian authorities but not western authorities (which is why Pavel Durov was arrested), or how their half hidden end2end encryption mode used to have a mechanism to make it almost impossible to detect a Person in the Middle Attack until they got called out.

If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck it's probably not a whale.

[-] lazynooblet@lazysoci.al 5 points 2 weeks ago

I'm not saying I don't agree with the speculation. It's just some things get passed around as facts, but it's a conspiracy at most.

[-] doo@sh.itjust.works 4 points 2 weeks ago

The facts are:

russia spent a lot of effort trying to ban it
eventually they "convinced" durov to cooperate to fight terrorism and removed the ban
in russia fighting terrorism is applied to anything

Yes, I don't have evidence that the messages are accessed, only that the access is given and that all of that is happening in a country with a blatant disregard to law from the government.