FSB Rejects All Proposals for Defining “Spy Equipment”

The Federal Security Service (FSB) of Russia has rejected all proposals from market participants regarding the definition of “special technical means intended for covert information gathering” (STM).

Last summer, the FSB announced its intention to clarify the definition of STM after a high-profile case involving a farmer from Kurgan who purchased a Chinese GPS tracker with a built-in microphone for his cow. The farmer was charged under Article 138.1 of the Russian Criminal Code (“Illegal trafficking of special technical means intended for covert information gathering”). When the case gained widespread attention, the Prosecutor General’s Office stated it would review all similar cases for possible overreach.

Experts believe that a precise definition of STM would help distinguish spy equipment from consumer-grade household devices. For example, the Association of Trading Companies and Manufacturers of Electrical Household and Computer Equipment (RATEK) proposed that the STM term should only apply to devices “designed to look like products intended for functions unrelated to information gathering,” according to Kommersant.

The FSB was not satisfied with RATEK’s proposal. According to the security service, such wording would unjustifiably narrow the scope of modern devices capable of covert information gathering. “The hypothetical possibility of using household devices for covert information recording is not ensured by purposefully implemented special technical solutions in these devices,” the FSB stated.