Earlier this year, the Kremlin tasked the Internet Initiatives Development Fund (IIDF, or FRII in Russian) to develop develop a new secure messaging service for government. Concerned that foreign governments could access secret Russian information shared via Western apps such as WhatsApp and Viber, officials expressed concerns that Russia’s security agencies were unable to crack encryption if they wished to monitor officials’ online communication.
While the Kremlin is yet to issue any specific technical specifications for the app, it will need to support VoIP calls, video conferencing, file sharing, document collaboration, and a calendar function, FRII spokesperson Sergei Skripnikov told The Moscow Times. The service will also use high-level Russian cryptography and receive certification from Russia security agencies.
Skripnikov named Russian companies Titanium, Flodium, Sibrus and SyncCloud as the four possible candidates for the development of the messenger app.
Russian companies fight for secure government messenger contractRead More
