Big Brother isn't watching you anymore, in the seat of the former Soviet Union…but he just might like a peek at your e-mail.
The Russian security service is tapping into most of Russia's Internet service providers, under a government directive granting it sweeping powers to monitor e-mail and Net traffic, says Cox News Service.
And one Net company in Volgograd isn't playing ball, launching a legal challenge which could be a first-of-its-kind privacy fight in the former Communist nation, says Cox.
"They are relying on their grandfathers' methods," says Bayard-Slavia Communications general director Nail Murzakhanov, alluding to the former KGB. "That's not the way Russia is supposed to work today."
Agents of the FSB, the main successor to the notorious KGB, visited Bayard-Slavia offices in April, Cox says, demanding a list of clients and the ability to read their e-mail. The FSB also wanted the company to pay for equipment the agency's agents would need to carry out the planned snooping and even train them in using it.
Russian law requires telecommunications companies to pay out thousands to equip the FSB or risk their business licenses, Cox says.
Under Russian regulations, the FSB in theory needs a warrant to monitor e-mail - but the regs also require black boxes on Internet systems, letting agents sit at monitors and tap through a high-speed fiber-optic line.
Human rights and civil libertarian groups are already alarmed by the development. Citizens Watch tells Cox the FSB should have access in the course of criminal investigations only.
The case comes on the heels of a European Union flap over the reach of Washington. The National Security Agency is said to have set up a system to monitor every telephone call, fax, and e-mail made in Europe, with help from London, says Cox.
