Ukraine killed a Russian general after he made an unsecured call that gave away his location, report

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

Ukrainian troops were able to intercept a call by a Russian general and kill him, according to The New York Times.

The paper cited two US military officials for the information. It did not name the general or give a location.

The report corroborates suggestions that the Russian military is using unsecured communications that Ukraine has been able to intercept.

Ukraine said it has killed four generals so far, an unusual toll for such senior officers.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/ukraine-killed-a-russian-general-after-he-made-an-unsecured-call-that-gave-away-his-location-report-says/ar-AAVbLC5

The Russians don't use secure channels to communicate? Sounds like some corrupt official may have pocketed the money that was supposed to upgrade their systems.

[Aristus]

1. "Encrypted messaging? Why? What's the worst that could happen?"

[TheBlackAdder]

21. Can you hear me now? YUUUUP!

.






.

[JohnSJ]

2. It is unfortunate this was made public, so it is unlikely they will make that mistake again

[Irish_Dem]

7. This info has been public for some time now.

And the idiot generals keep using unsecured lines.
They may have no choice if that is all they have.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

12. Well, ... it was the same way they heard about and publicized another general's death

... about ten days ago. Gerasimov.

Russian forces in Kharkiv have accidentally taken out their own secure communications systems by destroying the 3G towers they depend on, it has been reported.

Ukraine's military has shared an intercepted call captured as a result, reporting the death of Major General Vitaly Gerasimov to someone identified as a senior Russian intelligence officer by Bellingcat's Christo Grozev.

The incident is the latest evidence of the technological and equipment challenges facing Russia's invasion force, as indicated by photographs of civilian radios and abandoned and captured vehicles.

https://news.sky.com/story/russians-reportedly-take-out-own-secure-communications-system-during-kharkiv-assault-12560577

[Bernardo de La Paz]

3. Russia made an encryted comm system for the military, but

... corruption, among other things.

Here's a more detailed explanation (reports I read about cell phone towers may have been confused)

https://rusi.org/explore-our-research/publications/commentary/russian-comms-ukraine-world-hertz
March 4

[yagotme]

4. I guess they're learning,

that Stupid hurts.

[MineralMan]

5. It is impossible to underestimate the equipment and technology

Russian ground troops have available to them. State-of-the-art equipment is available, but not to field units. That stuff is reserved for elite military organizations, and they're not in Ukraine.

That situation has long been the case in the Russian military.

[TheBlackAdder]

22. The first I saw this in use was when Russian-backed Syria targeted news reporters.

.

Now it's coming home to roost.

.

[bottomofthehill]

6. Amazing, the domestic terrorists who attacked the Capitol on 1/6

Used secure communications, yet the conscripts that Russia is sending to Ukraine do not have them. Amazing.

[left-of-center2012]

8. With the reported lack of military rations ...

Maybe he was ordering a pizza ?

[speak easy]

11. Or on Tinder, looking for a date?

[Irish_Dem]

9. 4 Russian generals dead, 8 fired, 1 jailed.

That is unbelievable.

[Tetrachloride]

10. There are 3 sections of encryption: the beginning, middle and end

Any one of those could be broken and might be enough for you know what

[lpbk2713]

13. I'll bet he won't make that mistake again.

[brooklynite]

14. "Your call is very important to us; please remain on the line..."

[yagotme]

16. His vehicle warranty was about to expire.

[brooklynite]

17. It IS hard to find a tank repair shop in Ukraine...

[yagotme]

20. Where "Blowing the engine"

is higher on the Richter scale.

[HipChick]

18. Lmao!...

[FakeNoose]

15. Don't they use burner phones in Russia?

Actually I thought the Russians invented the idea of burner phones. But I could be wrong.

[jobendorfer]

19. Pure speculation on my part

One of the things Putin has to worry about is plotting by his armed forces (which are more than powerful enough to topple him, should they chose to do so).

I would not be surprised to learn that the Russian Army is not allowed to use crypto gear, so that his FSB (or whoever the Russian internal security agency is, these days) can monitor their training activities and operations.

Even if their cell communications were encrypted, just the fact that Ukrainians have access to the towers and could do basic traffic analysis could give away a great deal. For example, my county Sheriff's office often uses tower triangulation to zero in on missing hikers and climbers in the Cascades, using cell tower pings. I would have to imagine that Ukrainian intelligence could that or even more sophisticated things.