Inside Cyber Warfare - Jeffrey Carr [134]
The 5th TSNIII probably changed names during the 2010 MOD reorganization. The new name is Federal State Research and Test Center of Electronic Warfare and Evaluation of Low Observables (FSI FGNIITS EW OESZ).[91] The new center is located at the same Voronezh address as the 5th TSNIII, and is listed as an information certification center on the 2011 FSTEC list. For the first time since the late 1990s, the 5th TSNIII no longer appears. The VAIU website lists the new center as a VAIU component. However, while not mentioned specifically, Putin’s 2008 Russian government decree reorganizing the military educational system does allow for “subsequent formation of separate structural subunits.”[92] The center’s location under VAIU might explain the high ratio of staff to students, as mentioned previously.
Voronezh city documents and the VAIU website show VAIU’s Department of Electronic Warfare and Information Security and the center located at the same Voronezh address. The co-location of an FSTEC information security certification center and VAIU’s “hacker” training department is interesting (see the sidebar, ). A 2006 Russian military press article stated that VIRE—now a VAIU component—needed a unified teaching and research center for the quality EW training of personnel from the armed forces, FSB, and Interior Ministry (MVD). The co-location achieves that goal.
STRUCTURE OF RUSSIAN EW (IO) FORCES
Since 2006, Russian military press has predicted that the EW Troops would become an independent combat arm. In 2010 Military Frontier, a Ukrainian hosted forum on Russian military developments, provided a projected structure for Russian EW Troops composed of military units (Vch) 21882, 77111, 33872, and 96010.
Research shows that Vch 77111 is the MOD Main Center for Computer Security located in the new General Staff building in Moscow (see Figure 15-2). Vch 33872 is the 5th TSNIII and—based on standard Russian military practice—is almost certainly the new research center’s unit number. Indeed, the forum accurately projected the name change for Vch 33872 from 5th TSNIII to a new name including “low observables.”
Russian documents indicate that Vch 21882 is a component of the Federal Communications Agency (FCA) within the Ministry of Defense. According to the 2004 Russian Government Resolution, the Federal Communications Agency, under the Ministry of Communications, is responsible for managing communication, satellite, and broadcast networks.
The resolution also states that FCA manages Russia’s entire telecommunications network during emergencies, organizes the certification system for communications, and deconflicts frequency assignments. The FCA documents do not list a MOD component. The organization chart, however, shows a Department of Special Communications and Information Protection that probably correspond to Vch 21882. The FCA’s authorized strength is 112 (i.e., 112 staff members).
An organization like Vch 21882 is likely necessary to coordinate normal network operations with information operations during “emergencies.” Establishing FCA is consistent with objectives set out in the 2000 Information Security Doctrine.
Figure 15-2. Old (bottom) and new (top) General Staff buildings in Moscow
18th Central Research Institute of the Russian Defense Ministry (18th CRI MOD)—Military Unit (Vch) 11135
Subordinate to the General Staff’s Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU), the 18th CRI is the MOD’s main research center for signals intelligence. Originally focused on radio intercept and satellite communications, the 18th CRI also works on wireless devices, and it may have a role in Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system security.[93] The FSTEC 2011 list on certified information security products lists Vch 11135 as a testing laboratory.[94] Russian press articles state that Vch 11135 developed the first electromagnetically shielded personal computer approved for use by the MOD, FSB, and MVD. The articles state the computer, produced in a Vch 11135 facility, is also used