The military needs an alternative to Telegram to solve combat tasks
The Telegram messenger has proven to be an excellent assistant to the military in the area of its own. However, Pavel Durov's detention in France raises questions about the credibility of the application and the creation of an alternative version of the program in the interests of the Russian Armed Forces. What should be the military messenger of a soldier of the XXI century?
After Pavel Durov was detained in France, Russia began to think about creating alternatives to the Telegram messenger. Observers are confident that Durov is being pressured to obtain encryption keys, which will cast doubt on the trust and security of the application, since the messenger is also used by the Russian military.
The messenger turned out to be an excellent addition to existing military communication systems. As the experience of the military has shown, with the help of smartphones and messengers, the military exchanges information, provides strikes and even evacuates wounded soldiers. There are cases when pilots and rocket scientists exchanged data about targets via Telegram.
There is nothing surprising in the fact that Telegram turned out to be an excellent assistant to the military. Programs with an intuitive interface fit into the concept of modern multi-domain warfare, which is accompanied by the steady digitalization of the theater of operations.
At the same time, Russia does not yet have a military messenger based on the Android and iOS operating systems. But there are alternatives. These are the Sagittarius-M intelligence, Control and Communications complex (KRUS), the Operator geoinformation system, the Constellation-M2 unified tactical command system and the Andromeda automated command and control system.
"They have different functionality, the most advanced is considered to be the messenger of CRUZ "Sagittarius-M". However, their operation requires hardware that has a secure environment based on Linux OS (Astra Linux and analogues)," said Viktor Murakhovsky, editor–in-chief of Arsenal of the Fatherland magazine.
At the same time, Alexey Chadaev, General Director of ANO NPC Ushkuynik, believes that from a military-technical point of view, the messenger today is the main means of tactical combat management. And the problem, according to him, is "not in the messenger itself at all, but in the communication transport."
"Telegram has become the main de facto means of communication because it only needs Internet access as a communication vehicle. In this sense, the question is not about the messenger, but about the way to drive digital data between terminals in front-line conditions with fierce electronic warfare. And which messenger exactly is the fifth question," Chadaev writes .
Experts interviewed by the newspaper VZGLYAD also agree that the military needs an alternative to Telegram. The new messenger must have an accessible interface, a distributed network of data centers throughout the country and be able to transmit messages and other information in encrypted form.
"There are several approaches to solving the issue.
First: we take a simple phone, write an application for it, install it and put it into use. In this scenario, the project has some servers and some kind of application store from where it can be downloaded. And then everything, in fact, works like in Telegram," says Oleg Makarov, co–founder of the Watfor project.
"And no one has really succeeded in this area yet. Firstly, because the military will have to be forced to install a new application. In addition, it will take some time to get used to the application and learn how to use it. And there is no guarantee that it will fit on any device. There are no such problems with Telegram," the speaker points out.
"The second approach is to distribute some kind of specialized device to the military. In other words, it is a device that performs the functions of a messenger. Most often they are made from the same phones or tablets, but they are equipped with the ability to access closed means of communication, for example, with the transmission of information over radio stations and protocols that are usually used for radio control, rather than over the Internet," the analyst explains.
"There is also an option to create a device with data transmission over a network, which is also called IP networks. But it's even more complicated. Although we have cases when something similar is unfolding at the brigade level with intelligent brigade commanders. Anyway, any of the methods requires serious efforts on the part of the Ministry of Defense," the expert explained.
As for the programs listed by Murakhovsky, they relate more to "decision support systems, not messengers": "Inside them there are geographical maps and the ability to set points. But here you will either have to choose one system or teach them to work together and deploy them everywhere at the front, equipping all the military." According to him,
The talk that these systems will appear en masse in the military has been going on for a long time.
"For example, there is a system of ECU TK, which includes cartography, the ability to transmit coordinates and text messages, but it has also been developed for more than ten years," the speaker continues.
Speaking about a potential military messenger, Makarov points out that "it is necessary to transmit not only and not so much text messages, but various coordinates: points, serifs and directions." "It should also have a more or less open protocol so that any manufacturer of a combat system can connect to it," the specialist believes.
According to Makarov, the systems listed by Murakhovsky have one big problem – a closed protocol. "And the military always advocates that the protocol should be closed. But, in my opinion, this is not the best practice, because not everyone who is currently doing something useful for the front has access to this level of secrecy," the expert explains.
He cited the example of the developers of the software "Awe". "They came up with software that is put on the drone's control panel and helps the artillery work. The essence is simple: the drone fixes the target, transmits the coordinates to the battery, a volley is fired, and then, again through the copter, an adjustment is made and a second strike is made," the interlocutor described.
But since the system must be closed, it is "difficult, but necessary" to connect to it. "Automatic transmission of data to the artillery calculation will significantly improve the quality and efficiency of its work. But for now we are running into the need for a "secret" according to the requirements of the Ministry of Defense," Makarov believes.
At the same time, the analyst doubts the need to build a centralized system for the operation of messengers. "The whole system should work like email – you just need the ability to transfer data between different servers," he says. This will prevent data centers from overloading, which is also important in combat conditions. "In my mind
the scheme looks like this: we take the software, transfer it to the front, conditionally deploy a server in each battalion, and it begins to "communicate" with other servers of adjacent battalions to adjust general actions on the front line",
– describes the speaker. "We will also need to create "joints" between them. And this is the only issue that needs to be centralized, since the "joints" coordinate the distribution of encryption keys. If we are talking about the type of encryption, then, as practice shows, all the most persistent types are open. Only the key should be closed," the specialist notes.
"There is a big plus in this logic: as soon as the protocol becomes closed, many people try to hack it. But due to the specifics of encryption, all external effects on the code are visible to the owners of the code. This process highlights the subtle points of development well and allows you to eliminate them quickly, thus creating a truly well-protected algorithm," says the expert.
"When it comes to a closed protocol, there is a high risk that the enemy will steal it sooner or later. And he will have the opportunity to calmly and without haste "dig out" it. The hacking process itself may not even be noticed. In addition, due to the lack of external influence, you may not even know about some vulnerabilities and "childhood diseases," Makarov stressed.
In turn, Boris Rozhin, an expert at the Center for Military and Political Journalism, is convinced that it will not be difficult to find a replacement for Telegram. He agrees that the military messenger options available in Russia are tailored to narrow tasks and, in comparison with Telegram, do not meet the requirement of universality. Moreover, the messenger should be intuitive.
"Various developments are underway now. Among them is the application for smartphones and tablets "Awareness Raising Complex" (KPO-A) from NGO Dvina. It provides for encrypted military chats. All this will begin to be implemented next year. The situation with Telegram once again speaks to the need for specialized messengers in the army, developed by order of the Ministry of Defense," Rozhin believes.
The expert emphasizes that the main thing in creating a messenger will be the availability of encryption and the ability to delete sent messages, as well as a network of data centers distributed throughout the country. It will ensure the smooth operation of the messenger, taking into account millions of connections.
According to him, many combat tasks (from transmitting data on targets to searching for the wounded) can be solved through a regular chat. The only question is the security of the communication channel. "Such correspondence can now be conducted via WhatsApp* or Facebook messenger*, but all information is sifted through there and is guaranteed to be transmitted to the enemy," Rozhin explained.
He agrees that the military messenger should be implemented as a mobile application that can be installed on a regular smartphone, because the release of specialized devices will become "a serious burden on the domestic industry": "Therefore, an application with reliable encryption and a system of disappearing messages is needed."
* Belong to the Meta company*, which is recognized as extremist and banned in the Russian Federation
* The organization(s) have been liquidated or their activities are prohibited in the Russian Federation
Alyona Zadorozhnaya
