Data Security
Ukraine: A Distributed Data Disaster for Russia?
Ukraine claims to have recovered 100 GB of data from one hard drive found by border guards…
A data scoop
When on patrol, Ukrainian border guards in the Chernihiv region discovered a hard drive containing a wide range of data on Russian troops and equipment.
The drive contains more than 100 GB of sensitive data spanning
- the anti-aircraft artillery unit of the Russian Federation (originating from the Moscow region)
- the staff list with biographies of the Russian military
- technical documentation of weapons and military equipment
Now Ukrainian law enforcement officers have photographs, descriptions and copies of the passports of the Russian occupiers.
The disk also contained documents relating to participation in the training, including at the beginning of this year: combat readiness, maps, and other official documentation of the enemy unit. Some of the documents were marked with access restrictions as “Secret”.
And no doubt the Pentagon now has the technical data about those anti-aircraft radars.
It may be a scoop, but is it a disaster? I’ve dug through what I can of the content.
Security?
You’ve got to wonder about Russian discipline and security procedures haven’t you?
The precise details of how the disk was ‘discovered’ are not detailed on the Border Guards website.
Was the external drive in an abandoned truck? Or at an evacuated command post?
As the Ukraine border guards were involved, one assumes that it was near an area of conflict, perhaps abandoned during a retreat — in which case it should have been destroyed. In that case it indicates a lack of discipline during a withdrawal.
Either way, it’s a sure sign of sloppiness.
The anti-aircraft unit in question originated in Moscow, and the Chernihiv oblast borders Belarus and Russia.
The story on the Border Guards website is dated 2 July 2022, but we have no way of knowing when the data was acquired.
Video analysis
I took a few screen shots and tried to sharpen the detail:
The collar insignia appears to indicate that this guy is from the Russian Air Defence Troops.
If you are sharp-eyed you will notice that the collar insignia appears to be reversed (or more likely the Wikipedia image is backward). It could be the camera processing. Apart from that it looks like a good match.
The Air Defence Troops are an Arm of the Russian Ground Forces, intended to cover troops and facilities from means of air attack of the enemy during conduct by combined-arms associations and formations of operations (combat actions), regroupings (marches) and being on-site. They are assigned to fulfil the following main tasks:
- combat duty on air defence;
- reconnaissance of enemy aircraft and warning the troops covered;
- destruction of enemy air attack means during their flight;
- participation in conduct of missile defence in theatres of military actions.
I could discover nothing about the designation below except that other trucks in the formation have different numbers — so they are truck specific (or possibly technology-specific — i.e radar type).
On parade:
They were clearly on parade, possibly soon before crossing the border into Ukraine (either from Russia or Belarus). The video contained data about readiness.
I’ve tried to enhance the signage but the resolution is just too poor to offer anything legible.
The weapon system?
After a hunt around I was able to identify this as a Russian anti-aircraft missile system Osa (SA-8 Gecko), with target acquisition radar (atop the vehicle) and phased-array guidance and tracking radar (the two small plates control a missile each). The six SAM8 missiles in ribbed containers are not in place in the video.
The 9K33 Osa (‘Wasp’); NATO reporting name SA-8 Gecko — SAM8 — is a high mobility, low-altitude, short-range tactical surface-to-air missile system developed in the Soviet Union in the 1960s which became operational in 1972. It is mounted on a 6x6 fully amphibious platform TELAR (transport, erector, launcher).
The Osa was the first mobile air defense missile system incorporating its own engagement radars on a single vehicle.
A 9K33 battery comprises four 9A33B TELAR vehicles and two 9T217 transloader vehicles on BAZ-5939 chassis with reload missiles and a crane. A reload time of five minutes has been reported per TELAR. — Wikipedia
It is capable of firing, tracking and controlling two 9K33 missiles independently at the same target. This capability complicates the target aircraft’s use of ECM.
It is a highly effective system.
Russia was believed to have 280 operational units pre-Ukraine war.
The Ukraine also has these units in service, number unknown. So they already know the technical details of the equipment.
It is in wide use by many countries.
And the troops in the video?
The Russian troops look happy, with high morale pre-action. As the data about training indicates, it appears to have been filmed early in the year when they still had plentiful supplies of vodka and zakuskie.
I doubt that those troops will be so happy now — or so well-supplied.
Disclaimer: This story is based on information provided through the Ukraine government. As such it may have been subject to falsification or manipulation. But I don’t believe that for a minute.
Is it a data disaster?
I don’t think so, at least not for the Russian command.
The West already has access to full details of the Osa SAM8 via Ukraine’s own use of the system, but there could be details of other equipment which is of value to the West
However, the data capture is indicative of a laxness on the part of the Russian forces.
Why on earth have passport data and biographies out in the field?
Ah, wait. Hasn’t that always been the case? A soldier’s file follows him doesn’t it?
But in this day and age it’s much easier and quicker to track individuals than when paper files were the norm. It could be a disaster for individual troopers if they’ve been engaged in any criminal activity. Just having their faces splashed across social media — perhaps a hacked VK (ex-VKontakte. the Russian Facebook equivalent) — would not be good for morale.
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