The company has played an important role in ensuring Russian cyber espionage.
Finnish company Nokia has announced that it is leaving the Russian market in connection with the invasion of Ukraine. However, she did not say what she was leaving. It is the hardware and software that connects the government's most powerful digital surveillance tool with the nation's largest telecommunications network, according to The New York Times.
This is the so-called system of operational and investigative activities, or SORM. It was used to track opposition supporters Alexei Navalny. It is also likely that it is being used now when the president of the aggressor country, Vladimir Putin, is suppressing and suppressing anti-war voices inside Russia.
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The New York Times writes, citing documents, that for five years Nokia provided equipment and services that connected SORM with Russia's largest telecommunications provider, MTS.
Although Nokia does not produce technology for intercepting messages, the documents describe how it worked with Russian state-owned companies to plan, optimize and troubleshoot the connection of the SORM system to the MTS network. The FSB uses this system to eavesdrop on telephone conversations, intercept e-mails and text messages, and monitor other Internet communications.
The documents date back to 2008-2017 and show that Nokia knew it was launching a surveillance system. At the same time, this work was important because it allowed her to build a business in Russia that brought her millions in annual income.
Andrei Soldatov, an expert on Russian intelligence and digital surveillance, who reviewed some Nokia documents at the request of The Times, said that “it would have been impossible to create such a system without the company's participation in SORM.”
Nokia, which did not dispute the authenticity of the documents, said that Russian law required the production of products that would allow the Russian operator to connect to the SORM system. Other countries are making similar demands, the company said, and it must decide whether to help the Internet work or leave altogether. Nokia also stated that it does not manufacture, install or service SORM equipment.
The company said it complies with international standards, which are used by many suppliers of basic network equipment that cover government surveillance. She also called on governments to establish clearer export rules on where technology can be sold, and said she “unequivocally condemns” Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
“Nokia does not have the ability to monitor, access or interfere with any lawful interception of networks owned and operated by our customers,” the statement said.
MTS did not comment on this information.
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