Leaked data has revealed intimate details about the officials and businessmen surrounding Vladimir Putin. Photograph: Sputnik/Reuters
Analysis: trade in stolen data is a boon for investigators and a headache for Kremlin
In early 2019, the journalist Andrei Zakharov managed to buy his own phone and banking records in a groundbreaking investigation into Russia’s thriving markets in stolen personal data, in which law enforcement and telecoms employees can be contracted anonymously to dip into their systems and pull out sensitive details on anyone.
A year and a half later, investigators from Bellingcat and the Insider used some of the same tools and clever analysis to out a secret FSB team that had been tasked with killing Alexei Navalny using a novichok nerve agent.
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WNU Editor: It appears that Russia's intelligence agencies are operating under rules that were efective and standard 30 years ago but are totally ineffective in today's internet age.
