Kremlin returns to Typewriters to defeat American Intelligence Efforts.

[Savannahmann]

I was wondering how long it would take to go this route. I figured stand alone computers, that is to say computers that are not connected to the internet, would be the first move of those we are desperately trying to spy upon. Sure, you can't get updates, but you can't be spied upon either. But they're going even more impossible to spy upon with this return to old school ink and paper. This return means that the CIA will have to use some of those spies that Snowden supposedly knows about, if there are any he doesn't know about, and try and get copies of the actual paper documents.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/russia/10173645/Kremlin-returns-to-typewriters-to-avoid-computer-leaks.html

A source at Russia's Federal Guard Service (FSO), which is in charge of safeguarding Kremlin communications and protecting President Vladimir Putin, claimed that the return to typewriters has been prompted by the publication of secret documents by WikiLeaks, the whistle-blowing website, as well as Edward Snowden, the fugitive US intelligence contractor.

The FSO is looking to spend 486,000 roubles – around £10,000 – on a number of electric typewriters, according to the site of state procurement agency, zakupki.gov.ru. The notice included ribbons for German-made Triumph Adlew TWEN 180 typewriters, although it was not clear if the typewriters themselves were this kind.

So they're dusting off the older typewriters they have in storage somewhere, and they are asking for new typewriters. Now, how is the NSA going to intercept those documents?

[hobbit709]

1. So the Kremlin is going samizdat.

[nadinbrzezinski]

2. Tread winner!!!!

[hobbit709]

4. I figured you'd catch it.

[pinboy3niner]

7. I predict a resurgence in samokritica

[iemitsu]

3. Now that's funny.

I'm going to invest in some breeding pairs of carrier pigeons. And maybe tin cans and string.

[geek tragedy]

5. You misrepresented what the story says--the typewriters are to defeat leaks like Snowden, not the

NSA.

[Savannahmann]

6. Uh, No.

Documents leaked by Mr Snowden appeared to show that Britain spied on foreign delegates including Dmitry Medvedev, then the president, at the 2009 London G20 meetings.

Russia was outraged by the revelations but said it had the means to protect itself.

But I like this quote even better.

Nikolai Kovalev, the former director of Russia’s Federal Security Service, told Izvestiya: “From the point of view of security, any means of electronic communication is vulnerable. You can remove any information from a computer. There are means of defence, of course, but there’s no 100 per cent guarantee they will work. So from the point of view of preserving secrets the most primitive methods are preferable: a person’s hand and a pen, or a typewriter.”

[geek tragedy]

8. Headline: Kremlin returns to typewriters to AVOID COMPUTER LEAKS

However an FSO source told Izvestiya newspaper: “After scandals with the distribution of secret documents by WikiLeaks, the exposes by Edward Snowden, reports about Dmitry Medvedev being listened in on during his visit to the G20 summit in London, it has been decided to expand the practice of creating paper documents.”

Unlike printers, every typewriter has its own individual pattern of type so it is possible to link every document to a machine used to type it.

“Typewriters are still used to type on paper with an adhesive layer so that the glue doesn’t get too hot,” the source said. “What’s more, a whole series of documents are not created on electronic devices. That practice exists in the defence ministry, the emergencies ministry and the special services.”

...

Nikolai Kovalev, the former director of Russia’s Federal Security Service, told Izvestiya: “From the point of view of security, any means of electronic communication is vulnerable. You can remove any information from a computer. There are means of defence, of course, but there’s no 100 per cent guarantee they will work. So from the point of view of preserving secrets the most primitive methods are preferable: a person’s hand and a pen, or a typewriter.”