Since the Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has begun, several civilian and military establishments in the eastern European nation have been hit badly.
But the phone lines and internet are still working. Is it intentional or has Russia failed to tear it down?
Cybersecurity experts feel that Moscow has three good reasons to not disable phone and data networks.
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The first is that the Russian intelligence services can eavesdrop on phone calls and emails. It can also gather geolocation and other metadata, which can prove useful in the invasion.
The Russian army is also using Ukrainian commercial networks to communicate can be the second reason.
The invading army doesn’t want to destroy infrastructure that they will need if they conquer Ukraine is surely the third one.
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The continuance of phone lines and internet seems to have not worked in Russia’s favour till now as the details of the invasion have fuelled the world with anger and led to protests and sanctions.
“If [Russian forces] can do localised shutdowns of telecommunications, they’ll do it. But in general, they’ll want to keep the phones working in Kyiv because they can listen in,” said James Lewis, senior vice president and director of the strategic technologies programme at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
“If you want to own the house, you’re not going to burn it down,” Lewis added.
(With inputs from agencies)
