Austria’s capital, Vienna, has once again become, as was the case during the Cold War, a center for Russian intelligence activities, including electronic intelligence. how He writes The Financial Times quoted a senior European diplomat accredited in Vienna as saying that the equipment installed in Russian diplomatic sites, including on roofs, is one of the main causes of concern for him and his colleagues.
Officially, radio equipment in the Russian embassy and in the representative office of international organizations in Vienna is intended for communication with Moscow. But experts and diplomats interviewed by the Financial Times believe that this technology is already being used to intercept communications between Western militaries and governments.
Since the outbreak of the major Russo-Ukrainian war in 2022, most European countries have expelled Russian diplomats. Austria was one of the few exceptions.
In the aftermath of World War II, it avoided Germany’s fate – a split between the Western and Soviet blocs – by adopting a declaration of permanent neutrality. Austria is not a member of NATO or any other international military organization and does not allow foreign forces to be stationed on its territory.
During the Cold War, Vienna became one of the “diplomatic capitals” of the world: it housed the headquarters of several international organizations, including OPEC, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, as well as the UN structures responsible for nuclear arms control (the International Atomic Energy Agency and the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization). Emigration from the Soviet Union, as well as the expulsion of dissidents, often took place through Vienna.
Since the end of the Cold War, Austria has maintained its neutral status, and Vienna has remained a diplomatic center – and, as of 2022, one of the few places in Europe with a significant Russian diplomatic presence. In addition to the embassy, the Austrian capital has a large complex of the Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation to international organizations – more than 3.5 hectares and several buildings, including residential buildings.
The exact number of staff at the Permanent Mission and other Russian facilities has not been officially disclosed, but it is around 500 people – and according to the Financial Times, a third of them may be Russian intelligence officers under diplomatic cover.
According to the Financial Times, Western intelligence services have noticed the installation of new antennas and other unusual structures on the roofs of the buildings of the permanent missions complex during the past two years. They are especially bothered by frequent changes in their direction – this is an indication that the antennas are moving from one satellite to another. For example, on the eve of the Munich Security Conference in February, one of the largest antennas was reoriented and returned to its original location the next day.
In Vienna, NomenNescio (“I don’t know the name” in Latin) is a group of engineers and radio amateurs. By analyzing open data and photographs, they discovered satellites of interest to Russian intelligence officers.
Most antennas point west, toward geostationary satellites, which orbit between the prime meridian and the 15th meridian (Vienna is on the 16th meridian). These satellites provide communications between Europe, Africa and the Middle East.
The images show signal receiving devices, in addition to special lenses that allow expanding the interception range of satellite signals. This equipment allows Russian specialists to monitor several satellites simultaneously and respond to changes in their frequencies.
In addition to the permanent mission, there are antennas at the Russian embassy, a cultural center, a former sanatorium also owned by Russia, and other locations. Sometimes the equipment is covered with special structures so that it cannot be seen.
The Austrian authorities are limited in their actions: according to the law, espionage against foreign countries, if it does not threaten the national interests of Austria itself, is not considered a crime. Austrian intelligence services monitor the activity of Russian electronic intelligence stations and share at least part of their data with their European colleagues, the Financial Times reports.