Telegram Responds to Investigation that Links Its Infrastructure to Russian Security Services

A joint investigation by IStories and OCCRP alleges that Telegram’s global routing infrastructure is managed by GNM, a firm with ties to Russian intelligence, raising privacy concerns alongside a longstanding protocol issue that exposes an unencrypted auth_key_id and user metadata; while Telegram and GNM deny unauthorized access and cite regulatory compliance (SORM), experts warn that metadata analysis (timestamps, IPs, device identifiers) can still enable surveillance and user tracking even without message content.