Rules of communication with the military for everyone
The Russians are always waiting for you to ask a soldier where his unit is or how many soldiers are in position. They can hear even when you speak, seemingly through a secure app. You may be the one who informs the enemy without knowing it. In an interview with Dovidka.info, a spokesperson for the National Resistance Centre explained how this can happen.
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About what and why should you not ask a military person in a telephone conversation?
You must not ask about the location, personnel, with whom he/she serves, what kind of weapons the unit has. For example: “I saw on the TV news that tanks are coming to you”. Don’t ask anything about work. If they say they can’t talk about it right now, it means it’s true, and you don’t need to put pressure. It is understandable that you are worried about your husbands, sons, wives and sisters. But if you’re really worried, don’t ask. For you to sleep well, your friend, relative, your soldier must be safe. And to make sure they are safe, no information should be said in a telephone conversation.
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Are the apps that are recommended to us safe? For example, the Signal app, which is believed to allow you to speak more calmly.
The enemy doesn’t always need to listen to the conversation to find out something. For example, your husband or wife is a soldier, he or she has left for a safer place and got in touch with you from a frontline settlement. At the time of the conversation, they may be near a shop or market, in a crowded place. And when you ask a question, even through a secure messenger, the same Signal, he can pass on some information that someone on the outside can hear.
The Americans once coined the phrase “Loose lips sink ships” (if you lose control of your tongue, you lose your ship). That is, it’s not always about security in the sense of listening to conversations, but sometimes about ears that are everywhere.
Unfortunately, the enemy works everywhere. Even in a relatively peaceful civilian city, if you receive certain information, you can retransmit it. Always be alert.
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You can not only share some text messages, but also photos or videos. What is the danger in this?
If it’s a photo from a position, a photo with a certain equipment, there are dozens of intelligence apps that can help determine how the sun is falling, what time of day it is. Having worked on certain elements, the enemy can put together a picture, add other information they have received and, for example, find out about the movements of our military.
Therefore, both the military and civilians need to be very careful. If the military is to share certain information, it should be in such a way that it doesn’t carry any information about the location, about the place. For example, it could be just a white wall or a wall in a basement. Such a photo minimises the risks. If we are talking about military equipment, it can’t be photographed and can’t be published. You can’t post the work of military equipment. And if you are a civilian, taking pictures of such things and sending them to someone is also dangerous. Because there are dangerous applications that can extract information from your phone, and information from your communications can fall to the enemy.
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What other methods does the enemy use to find this information? What should the military, military families and volunteers always keep in mind?
They actively follow volunteers, military personnel, and relatives of military personnel on social media. Relatives can come to visit their loved ones and post photos of the meeting. And the enemy uses these photos to find information about equipment, military personnel, and positions. They can also determine something by geolocation, so putting geolocation on a photo… It is completely forbidden.
They listen to all the information about the movement of personnel, the supply of weapons and military equipment. There are a lot of algorithms for tracking, so you have to be very careful and think 10 times about whether you really need such photos.
You don’t need to publish all the addresses related to helping the military. Sometimes, you don’t even need to specify individual names. You need to be extremely careful with the number of personnel you can help.
Because there are a lot of details that can be analysed and understand to which military unit it will go. Volunteers also need to be careful in their reporting. Why is it sometimes not worth writing, for example, information about how many pairs of shoes or how many first aid kits will go to a particular direction? Because you can analyse and understand what kind of personnel are there and what is their number.
Everything related to locations is forbidden for publication. If a volunteer arrives at a position, he takes a neutral photo with a report that he has passed something to the military. Often there may be faces on it. If you are not yet an experienced volunteer, it is better to ask the soldier if you can show his face.
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If a serviceman is in a combat zone, how should he use his mobile phone?
Here you have to understand that the information you transmit through your phone can be read. Because the enemy’s electronic warfare is working and capturing it. For example, if you arrive at the position and switch on dozens or hundreds of phones at once, it is possible to understand that a unit is being deployed there.
Therefore, in order to get in touch with your family, it is necessary to agree in advance on certain hours and clear rules of communication. And try to do it from a safe place.
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What can you talk about with the military? What information is safe?
You can ask if he is doing well, if he has eaten. That’s all the information you need. You have to talk about everyday ordinary things.
