Information and communication ministry to oblige telecoms operators to give assistance to special services

Resolution #6 by the information and communication ministry, regulating the procedure of providing special services with access to talks and correspondence by the subscribers, has confirmed finally the victory by special services over telecoms operators in a 10-year-long argument about introduction of the system of operative-investigating measures (SOIM). Actually, this document only committed to paper the practice that was established long ago.

According to the Resolution, the operators of 16 kinds of communication services (long-range communications, mobile communication, Internet etc.) are obliged now to provide special services with distant monitoring facilities in real-time mode. Now communication businesses must acquire special equipment and allot a “special technical room” where operator’s employees will be barred from entry. Besides, all the equipment must be installed at the telecom provider’s expense.

Anyway the time has gone when our communication statements and internet providers were indignant about enforcing on them this “service” by state security bodies. In our country the degree of whistle-blowing by telecommunication providers is related directly to their past.

In the 90’s it only were owners of the small internet providing businesses who protested loudly against SOIM. The former research institutes employees, who had created such businesses from zero point, did not understand why they had to pay for tapping facilities to be installed.

As for mobile networks, special services had a good luck with them just from the moment this kind of communication appeared. The matter is they were formed as joint ventures affiliated to municipal telephone networks (like Mobile Telesystems) and others were just defense industry productions, so they could not have conflict of interest with security services.

In the late 90’s, after independent provider’s business was ousted from the market by numerous “daughters” of the state operators – Rostelekom, telecommunications and city central offices – the question became to be academic, as state-owned organization managers are used to come to agreement with the secret services.

Andrei Soldatov / Published in Novaya Gazeta

[18.03.2008, 09:12]