Russia's main security agency, the FSB, is considering requiring crypto exchanges and gaming platforms to install the country's SORM surveillance system, which could give authorities direct access to customer communications, account metadata and other information held by the platforms.
Alexander Samoylov, an employee of the Federal Security Service's 12th Center, included the proposal in a presentation delivered at the KROS technology conference in Sochi in May, Russian news outlet The Bell reported on Sunday, Aug. 2.
- The 12th Center, an FSB unit responsible for intercepting communications and internet traffic, oversees SORM and handles demands for encryption keys that could allow authorities to read protected messages.
- The presentation didn't say, though, which exchanges could be covered. It's also unclear what data they would have to make available or when the requirement might take effect.
- No related bill or technical standard appears to have been published so far.
- Under existing SORM rules, Russian companies may be required to store message content and metadata, while newer systems can reportedly analyze IP addresses, logins, social media profiles and payment information.
Russian law generally requires a court order to intercept the content of private communications. Still, the FSB doesn't have to present that authorization to the company, and SORM gives its officers direct remote access without asking platform employees to retrieve each record.
The plan would go beyond data requests
Russian authorities previously proposed requiring exchanges to disclose customer information to law enforcement in 2022.
Still, that plan involved companies responding to government requests. Installing SORM could instead allow the FSB to retrieve information remotely through systems maintained by the exchanges themselves.
A similar expansion has already reached financial services. The FSB ordered local banks T-Bank (formerly known as Tinkoff Bank) and Raiffeisenbank to connect some online products to SORM.
Raiffeisenbank challenged the order over banking secrecy concerns, although Russian courts still sided with the FSB. T-Bank, meanwhile, said it had begun installing the system and expected to complete the work by late 2026.