Contributed by: kellyseal on Friday, September 13 2024 @ 03:06 pm
Last modified on Friday, September 13 2024 @ 03:20 pm
Russia is advising its citizens to log off dating apps for a while after regions of the country were invaded during a surprise incursion by Ukraine.
According to a report from Politico’s European Bureau, the Russian government warned that Ukraine was using information gained from dating apps to plan its attack. Dating apps generally collect sensitive information such as location data as well as personal information like names, birthdates, ages, and more.
Popular U.S.-based apps like Tinder and Bumble had already pulled their platforms out of Russia when the country invaded Ukraine in February 2022, but many dating apps remain in use.
According to Politico[*1] , the Russian interior ministry said to citizens in Kursk, Belgorod and Bryansk: “The use of online dating services is strongly discouraged. The enemy is actively using them to gather information.”
Geolocation data from dating apps was especially of concern to Russian authorities. According to Kyiv Post[*2] , the ministry also said: “The enemy is massively identifying IP ranges in our territories and connecting to unprotected video surveillance cameras remotely, viewing everything from private yards to roads and highways of strategic importance.”
The Kyiv Post also shared that the government said that Ukraine can collect intelligence from CCTV footage remotely, and that using dating apps enables the “covert collection of information.”
Last year, reports came out from Ukrainian risk assessment and analysis firm Molfar that dating apps were being used strategically by Ukrainians to lure Russian soldiers on the front lines into sharing sensitive information, and then passed it along to the Ukrainian military. These so-called “honeytraps” can take months of communication and relationship-building before any information is shared that could help the Ukrainian military, but those working this angle have found success.
In addition to dating app warnings, the Russian military also issued orders to local military and law enforcement personnel to remove geolocation tags and identifiable personal information from their mobile devices. They also advised personnel not to open unsolicited links and to avoid using devices that contain official and personal information.
The Russian military also warned soldiers and law enforcement personnel not to stream videos or post dashcam footage of roads where military vehicles are present, according to Politico, as they might inadvertently show what kind of military equipment is being deployed.
The control isn’t being placed solely in the hands of Russian citizens, however. The country’s officials have also said that they intend to “control and moderate chats.” According to Kyiv Post, they have also stated that they will “promptly delete from them the accounts of people who have been captured by the enemy, as well as the accounts of people whose phones the enemy has gained access to.”