SBU has no technical ability to block Telegram
4 April 2024 13:21
The Ukrainian security services do not have the technical capability to completely block Telegram or any other similar internet services. In any case, users will be able to bypass the blocking. This was stated by Ilya Vityuk, head of the SBU’s cybersecurity department, in an interview with Ukrinform, Komersant Ukrainskyi 
reports.
According to him, there is no such thing as a secure messenger, as there are technical solutions that allow access to any of them, even Signal, which is considered almost a model of security.
“And if you take more expensive and sophisticated technical solutions, you can access the entire device, and then the attacker will have absolutely everything there. You can turn on the microphone or camera, no matter what messenger you use. We have one rule at the SBU: it is forbidden to send sensitive, proprietary information via any messenger. There is responsibility for this,”
– says Vitiuk.
He agrees that Russia conducts exactly the same propaganda and subversive activities on other messengers, social networks and websites, including Facebook and X. However, the SBU official somehow explains the danger of Telegram in Ukraine by its popularity. However, no matter how much the SBU would like it, it is really very difficult to block the messenger.
“…it is technically difficult to block it, like any other messenger. Even if it is partially done, the ban can be circumvented by using VPNs and other technologies. Even in China, where the so-called Great Firewall has been built, which bans Facebook and Google, VPNs are used to circumvent this. Although billions are spent on building this infrastructure. That is, there is no technical ability to block everything completely,”
– says Vitiuk.
Another obstacle to blocking any popular platform is the absence of their representative offices in Ukraine, the official says. “None of them are subordinate to the Ukrainian authorities, so it is very difficult to apply any leverage to them. But the authorities are working on it.
“We are working to resolve this issue. The Security Service has submitted a corresponding initiative for all international platforms to open their official representative offices in Ukraine within the timeframe specified by law, and in the future, to relocate the infrastructure that serves our territory here. In this case, they will be obliged to comply with the decision of the Ukrainian court,”
– the official said.
At the same time, he did not say directly whether the SBU was working to block Telegram in Ukraine.
Meanwhile, the head of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine, Kirill Budanov, believes that Telegram can be used for the benefit of Ukraine.
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