“Investigation Uncovers Telegram’s Potential Links to Russia’s FSB
The Telegram messaging app may be less secure than previously thought, as its infrastructure is controlled by a man whose companies have collaborated with Russian intelligence services, according to a new investigation by the exiled outlet IStories.
The popular messaging app’s founder, Russian-born Pavel Durov, has touted his platform as a haven for free speech and digital privacy, particularly in authoritarian countries.
In reality, Telegram chats are not end-to-end encrypted by default like competitors WhatsApp or Signal. Unless users opt in to the app’s “secret chat” feature, these chats are decrypted and stored on servers.
“This means that whoever controls the server can access the correspondence,” IStories wrote.
This infrastructure is maintained by Global Network Management (GNM), a little-known company based in Antigua and Barbuda that has provided Telegram with over 10,000 IP addresses, IStories found.
GNM’s owner, Russian national Vladimir Vedeneev, testified in a U.S. court that the company installs and maintains Telegram’s infrastructure and has staff in Russia. According to court documents reviewed by IStories, Vedeneev also serves as Telegram’s chief financial officer
