Forbidden connection
The fight against mobile devices in the Russian army began in the mid-2000s. In October 2005, Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov approved " Instructions on the regime of secrecy in the Armed Forces", which completely prohibited the use cell phones in units and headquarters. Four years later, under public pressure, the rules for the circulation of mobile phones in the army were liberalized.
In December 2009, the troops received instructions from the Minister of Defense No. 205/2/862, lifting the ban on the use of telephones, albeit with great reservations. Conscripts could use cellular communication only in the zones established for this and only on weekends. The rest of the time the tubes were kept in the unit commander's safe. Officers and contractors were categorically forbidden to carry and store mobile phones in office premises where “issues containing information constituting state secrets are discussed.”
According to experts, the next round of the fight against gadgets in the army is associated with the growth of their spy capabilities. Previously, mobile devices were viewed as a potential means of unauthorized photography, audio and video recording. Through modern smartphones a potential adversary can already receive secret information of a strategic nature, and without the knowledge of their owners.
In secret around the world
“All modern smartphones are equipped with modules for satellite navigation systems,” a source in the Defense Ministry, who wished to remain incognito, told RIA Novosti. - If someone can get access to this data, he will find out information about the deployment of units, their movements, the intensity of combat training. And on the scale of all the Armed Forces.”
Remote Hacking mobile devices- this is not some super-difficult task for our Western partners. In 2015, fugitive American agent Edward Snowden told the BBC that the US National Security Agency and the British Government Communications Center had developed smartphone hacking programs that could spy on their owners. For example, the Tracker Smurf program (“Smurf tracker”) determines the location of the device with high accuracy. A year earlier, reports appeared in the Russian media about a tacit ban on the use of the iPhone for military personnel. The Department of Defense feared that Apple company can merge the coordinates of gadgets in the Pentagon.
One of the reasons for the ban on smartphones could be the desire of the leadership of the Ministry of Defense to limit the activity of soldiers in social networks, which have long turned into a channel for information leakage. The location of units and subunits can be recognized by the geotags of photos posted by fighters on their personal pages. It is known that at the height of the war in Donbass, Ukrainian “volunteers” using social networks very effectively tracked the movement of Russian troops near the border. The analysis of the personal pages of military personnel, apparently, is being carried out on more high level. In August 2017, the Pentagon announced the creation of a social media monitoring service in Russian, English, German, French, Spanish and Japanese, as well as in Chinese dialects.
How are they?
At the same time, the American military department has been trying to impose discipline in the ranks of its social network users for more than 10 years. In 2007, in Iraq, American aircraft lost four AH-64 Apache helicopters in one day - the vehicles burned on the ground during a mortar attack. American fighters were found guilty of posting selfies in front of cars on Facebook the day before the attack. The militants, according to the Pentagon, found geotags with the GPS coordinates of the shooting in the photo metadata and applied precise blow. Soon, the US Army Command released a memo with six basic social media rules for soldiers in the war zone and their families (“6 Social Media Considerations for Deployed Soldiers and Their Families”). Similar manuals have been issued for the Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps.
An impressive part of the instructions is devoted to services with geotagging, which, according to the authors of the manual, "can bring the enemy." The command strongly recommends that soldiers turn off GPS navigation on smartphones. Fighters are being urged to be extremely selective in their online communications as well. There are cases when the Taliban “glued” to the soldiers fighting in Afghanistan under the guise of pretty girls as friends on Facebook. “Only add people you know in real life as friends,” military instructions say. Interestingly, at the beginning of the year, manuals with similar instructions appeared in the Russian Army.
Image copyright Dmitry Feoktistov/TASS Image caption Smartphones with cameras may soon be banned for the Russian military
The Russian Defense Ministry may impose restrictions on the use of smartphones for military personnel as part of the fight against information leaks, the Kommersant newspaper writes. Experts interviewed by the BBC have doubts about the effectiveness of this measure.
According to Kommersant, instead of smartphones with geolocation and a camera, military personnel may be offered to use the simplest models of push-button mobile phones.
According to the publication, Lieutenant General of the Russian General Staff Yuri Kuznetsov compiled a list of mobile devices allowed for use in the units of the Ministry of Defense.
The list includes 11 inexpensive push-button devices costing from 688 to 2313 rubles. All of them have the function of sending SMS, built-in alarm clock, calculator and calendar, but they do not have GPS / GLONASS navigation, and there is no built-in photo or video camera.
The Ministry of Defense hopes that such a measure will help fight information leaks - photographs and videos taken by military personnel, as well as their posts on social networks and geotags, are increasingly featured in journalistic publications and in the materials of investigative groups.
The BBC Russian service asked experts how appropriate it is to introduce such restrictions and whether anything will change if they are adopted.
Ruslan Leviev, founder of the Conflict Intelligence Team project
I think that the soldiers will continue to act as they did before: give one phone to the chief for storage, hide the second under the pillow, and update their social networks from it.
There are infinitely many such instructions, and in our memory since the beginning of the Ukrainian war, this kind of initiative has been put forward for the fourth or fifth time.
But the main thing is not instructions (according to the law, soldiers are already forbidden to publish information about military service, because they are a state secret), but control. Controlling a huge army is hard.
But in the much smaller Wagner group, such control is much easier to exercise. Therefore, we have noticed many times that as soon as a person signs a contract with the Wagner PMC, all his online activity immediately stops completely.
So, as regards the Russian servicemen, I think this will in no way affect our work.
Denis Mokrushin, blogger, military observer
It is possible to refuse [from using smartphones], but how will all this be controlled? Now, for example, military personnel are already prohibited from using mobile phones on the territory of the unit.
But nevertheless, at least officers and contractors wear them freely. Because otherwise it is difficult to keep in touch with each other. If the commander wants to assign a task to a subordinate, and he is not next to him, then he simply calls him on the phone.
Officially, this is prohibited, but in fact the ban applies only to conscripts who actually hand over their phones. But, again, they can rent one phone, and have a second one for communication. From it they will go to Vkontakte and other social networks.
BBC: And when are soldiers given telephones in units?
D.M.: For example, at a certain time in the evening, when all classes are over. It depends on the part, on the regime of its secrecy. Somewhere it can only be on weekends, also at a certain time. They are certainly allowed to make calls to their relatives, but this is necessarily regulated in each specific unit by the decision of the commander.
And if participation in hostilities is possible, then they may even demand to hand over all phones.
For example, military personnel sent to Syria do not hand over all phones, but they are forbidden to have smartphones, laptops, smart watches, fitness trackers and the like. It is clear that it can be carried illegally, but officially it is prohibited.
When collecting a conscript for service, parents are interested in: is it allowed to use a mobile phone in the army? A mobile device has become commonplace and everyday life of our lives, sometimes it may seem that without it we are like without hands. But the army has its own laws, and only those who have already served or are well aware of Russian legislation know which ones.
Not everyone has such knowledge, so we will help you figure out whether it is worth taking a phone with you to the army or is it a useless exercise, it is better to leave it at home.
Should I take the phone to the army
The telephone is the only means of communication for the conscript with his home, family and relatives, so, of course, you need to take it. In the army in 2019, it is allowed to use a cell phone, but at the same time, you should remember the basic rules, in case of violation of which the soldier will have to answer to the command to the fullest extent of army laws:
- The order of the Minister of Defense, registered in 2009, determines that in the Russian army you can use the phone only on certain days and hours, which is set by the leadership of a particular military unit.
- You can also have a phone in 2019 in your personal time, that is, you will have to forget about it when serving in a daily outfit. The same applies to the garrison.
- To better navigate the rules, find and download the “Army and Law” application to your smartphone, before you go to the draft, study it from A to Z, this will help you avoid many punishments for misconduct. AT mobile program you can also ask a lawyer a question if a controversial situation suddenly arises, but it’s better not to bring it to that.
You must notify your family members about these rules of army life that are in force for conscripts in 2019, explain that the army is not a passage yard where you can afford to do whatever you want. This is your job for the next 12 months, and work according to a clearly established schedule, now it is up to you to decide when you get up in the morning and when you go to bed.
In fact, you are not able to fully manage your life for a whole year, so talking on the phone for a long time and when parents or a beloved girl need it, they will have to forget for a while.
Which phone is better to take to the army
So, we have already found out that it is not only possible for a conscript to take a phone, but even necessary, but using it is with restrictions. Some military personnel take 2 devices with them at once, hand over one to a responsible person, and hide the second in the pocket of their uniform, but in part they do not approve of such experiments.
Think about how much you need a mobile phone - during study and training, physical and strength exercises for endurance, a mobile phone can fall out and break, then you definitely won’t be healthy, and you can’t return the device, it’s useless.
That is why former soldiers do not recommend “earning” conscious outfits and punishments out of turn, you are drafted into the army to learn something, and not to wash floors or clean potato sacks. Newfangled smartphones are also useless - they quickly break down, even one blow can cause the failure of some functions, which will never happen with a simple push-button device.
Choose a cheap, mobile, but reliable option for a mobile device that no soldier will covet and that it is not a pity to replace in case of a sudden breakdown. This authorized phone should be deposited with the person in charge, once a week it will be given out to call relatives. The soldier does not need the apparatus for any other purposes.
It happens that the command is not too strict about having a second phone, so sometimes you can ask your parents to bring a second mobile to a meeting, but only if you accurately study the daily routine and the rules in force in the military unit.
What phones can not be worn on the territory of a military unit
To avoid reprimand and dress, the soldier must refuse cellular devices GSM format communications. For ease of use, give preference to a simple model with a microUSB power connector - this is a single standard for charging absolutely all mobile phones, it can be used to charge almost all gadgets, tablets, phones.
There are many cases when a soldier lost his name cord to a smartphone and could no longer simply charge it even with the help of a charger that a friend had. The standard power connector is most often built into LG, Nokia and Alcatel phone models.
If you want to relax after watching an interesting movie with your comrades in the evening, ask your relatives to download a couple of videos to your smartphone, but do not abuse entertainment and hide the modern device somewhere away from prying eyes - in the army only you are responsible for the safety of valuables, no one is responsible for theft not insured.
How to arrange your leisure time in the army
In the service, a soldier will definitely not be bored, because the day is scheduled literally by the minute, the daily routine is quite tough early rise, certain duties, for example, in the kitchen, training and lights out.
In the absence of a cool phone, you can diversify your leisure time with such activities:
- Go in for sports - offer to build a sports corner, take the initiative and take part in this important process.
You can make not only barbells and weights, but also full-fledged simulators, for which the team will only say “thank you”. There is an opinion that among the “grandfathers”, who will soon leave for demobilization, it is customary to have fun by getting drunk, but here the owner is already the master, no one will force the conscript to pour alcohol. Everyone chooses for himself what is to his liking.
- Arrange concerts for the holidays with the participation of soldiers, thus earning additional pluses from the command in your address, and maybe even a leave home.
As it became known to "Kommersant", the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation is considering the option of limiting the operation modern means cellular communication in the central apparatus, government bodies and troops (up to subdivisions). Instead of smartphones, all military personnel - including senior officials - are invited to use the simplest models. push-button phones, which do not have the function of photo and video shooting and do not track geolocation, but they can send SMS and are equipped with a built-in flashlight. According to Kommersant, the leadership of the department decided in this way to deal with information leaks, including in the media. The new measures may come into effect as early as March 1.
About innovations in use personal funds Cellular communications in the armed forces of Kommersant were told by two sources close to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, and also confirmed by an interlocutor in the leadership of the department. According to one of them, over the past months the issue has been worked out jointly with the special services responsible for protecting state secrets. And recently, the head of the eighth department of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation (responsible for ensuring information security, is engaged in encryption), Lieutenant General Yuri Kuznetsov compiled a list of mobile devices “permitted for use” in central and military governments, units of the RF Ministry of Defense, formations, military units and organizations of the RF Armed Forces.
The list includes a total of 11 phone models of four different manufacturers(Nokia, TeXet, Alcatel and Samsung). These are the simplest push-button devices costing from 688 (per handset Alcatel One Touch 1020D) up to 2,313 rubles. (for the "clamshell" Samsung GT-E1272). They meet several main requirements: they use GSM 900/1800 standards (900/1800/1900 for some models), are equipped with a polycarbonate cover, have the function of sending SMS, built-in alarm clock, calculator, calendar, headphone jack, and some also have a flashlight or even a compartment for a second SIM card. The phone models recommended by the General Staff of the RF Armed Forces do not have GPS/GLONASS navigation and do not have a built-in photo or video camera.
Kommersant's military sources explain the innovation, which should take effect as early as March 1, as "secrecy considerations." AT last years the department experienced many problems due to information leaks: for example, during the operation to annex Crimea to Russia in 2014, its participants took commemorative photographs at former facilities of the Ukrainian armed forces, which were then leaked onto the Internet and used in the West to make allegations of “Russian aggression ". Photographs taken by Russian citizens in the south-east of Ukraine during the battles with the regular army served as the basis for accusations against the Russian Defense Ministry.
The last time the agency was concerned about the publication on social networks of photographs taken at the Khmeimim airbase in Syria after a mortar attack on militants: the pictures that were distributed on the network showed serious damage to equipment that was taken on a smartphone by one of the servicemen.
In addition, according to Kommersant, the military expects that the rejection of smartphones will help get rid of unauthorized access of documents (including those marked “For official use”) to the media.
It should be noted that this restrictive measure fits into the policy of working with military personnel pursued by the Ministry of Defense. So, on February 13, the Izvestia newspaper, referring to the rules for using the Internet, developed by the department at the end of 2017, reported that military personnel and civilian employees of the Russian Ministry of Defense were recommended to stop using social networks. In the future, the Ministry of Defense intends to amend the laws to make them mandatory. True, according to several employees of the central office of the department, it is easy to circumvent these rules: it is enough to create an account under a fictitious name.
With telephones, the situation is more complicated, says one of Kommersant's interlocutors: many employees of the department, including those related to management, are used to using multifunction devices, which allow you to install instant messengers and make calls over the Internet, and "no one is going to" refuse their accessories. But even this ban is easily manageable, an officer of one of the departments of the Ministry of Defense believes: “You buy a simple“ dialer ”, which you always carry with you and, if necessary, you can present to your superiors. normal phone on the silent mode stays in your pocket.
Kommersant sent a request to the Department of Information and Mass Communications with a request to comment on the department's plans.
At the end of last week, information appeared in the press that the Russian Ministry of Defense intends to limit the use of modern weapons in the troops. mobile communications. It was reported that instead of smartphones, all military personnel will soon be asked to use the simplest models of push-button phones that do not have the function of taking photos and videos and do not track the geolocation of the owner. At the same time, restrictions will be introduced both in the governing bodies of the Armed Forces and in military units.
"Rossiyskaya Gazeta" managed to find out that it has long been considered undesirable to use "smart" phones in the structures of the central apparatus of the military department. Now it is planned to extend the same practice to military units.
As explained to "Rossiyskaya Gazeta" in the Ministry of Defense, some restrictions associated with the use of smartphones in National Center The Defense Command on Frunzenskaya Embankment, in the building of the Ministry of Defense on the Arbat, in the headquarters and other administrative apparatuses of the troops, have been operating for a long time. And this is easily explained - officers and generals who have access to military secrets, using technically sophisticated gadgets, can unwittingly give out some information that a potential enemy needs.
After all, many smartphones collect information about the movements of their owner. There are persistent rumors that some especially "smart" devices even eavesdrop and can even spy on their master.
There is no question of forbidding military personnel, and primarily soldiers, to communicate with relatives
“Currently, the issue of extending restrictions related to the use of smartphones during official hours to military garrisons is really being considered,” a source in the military department told RG. if you ask them to leave their smartphones at the checkpoint."
The Russian Defense Ministry stressed that there is no question of banning all military personnel, and primarily soldiers, from communicating with relatives. "There are specially designated places and times at which conscripts can make calls to their relatives and friends," the source said.
The military added that such restrictions are in no way related to the desire to excommunicate people from high technology. The sole purpose is to prevent people from wittingly or unwittingly revealing classified military information.
At the same time, it is not so easy to force the Russian military to renounce smartphones, even just in the service. Don't forget about military ingenuity. Many officers who have already been given "stupid" (without a camera and geolocation function) phones use them in front of their leaders. In another pocket, they carry an iPhone or smartphone.
By the way
Tatarstan conscripts, by decision of the republican government, have been issued free of charge for more than ten years Cell phones so that during military service they are in touch with their relatives. Recruits receive mobile phones at the assembly point in Kazan .
These are ordinary push-button monoblocks without cameras. But whether Tatarstan conscripts will be able to use them depends on the military unit in which they get. In previous years, there were cases when the authorities took away the mobile phones from the guys. Calls were allowed only at certain times.
Prepared by Kazan