An investigation has revealed that at Moscow’s Bauman State Technical University, Russia’s military intelligence directorate (GRU) operates a secret school training students in hacking attacks, election sabotage, and disinformation methods.
Russian president’s visit to Bauman University
Russian President Vladimir Putin himself had visited Bauman University, which has some outstanding and capable scientists in its “embrace.” “You have everything you need to be competitive,” Putin told the students.
What was most interesting was a secret school within the university, known as Department 4 or “Special Training.” The university has created training programs focused on hacker education. Journalists from “The Insider” emphasize that future hackers are trained at this school.
The revelation
Until now, the role of military intelligence services in preparing future agents remained secret. “Sometimes they first spot you from school, then you go to Bauman and join the services… it’s part of a process,” stated a former senior Russian official.
The existence of this school is revealed through 2,000 university documents obtained by journalists from six media outlets: the Guardian, Der Spiegel, Le Monde, the Insider, Delfi, and VSquare. According to the data, 1,563 reservists and 429 contract candidates were studying at Department 4 across 14 military-related specialties.
