2024-08-26 15:44:54
The intelligence services were able to track the Telegram founder’s movements by looking at photos posted on Instagram by his girlfriend Juli Vavilova.
Was Pavel Durov, founder of the instant messaging service Telegram, betrayed by his girlfriend Juli Vavilova’s life as an influencer? This is the question posed by Baptiste Robert, head of Said Laba search engine specializing in social networks, used in open source investigations (OSINT). In a thread posted on X, this specialist looks at the messages and photos posted by this young woman who accompanies the founder and director on his travels. On his Instagram account Followed by nearly 23k people, she documents her travels and holiday activities in real time, a habit that may have cost her partner his freedom.
In the eye of Insta
While he indicates that he does not know the methods used to arrest him as he exited his private jet flight, Baptiste Robert indicates that the hypothesis of the use of OSINT is very likely. “Pavel Durov’s girlfriend was present during Pavel’s last three trips,” he indicates. “She published a lot on this subject, which is understandable since it is her job as a crypto-influencer. She therefore shared a lot of content and information concerning the places where she was, the activities she was carrying out, and consequently, those that Pavel Durov was also carrying out indirectly.”
Baptiste points out, however, that the couple had taken precautions to ensure that their joint activity would not be highlighted. “A closer look at these publications reveals that precautions were taken. At no time does Pavel Durov appear in the images, photos or videos shared by Juli. Similarly, when his girlfriend takes photos or videos, Durov is never seen. They clearly took care not to take photos of themselves together and not to talk when making videos, which shows that they adopted security measures and precautionary reflexes. There are no photos of them together on the Internet, except for one, taken on June 25, where they are seen leaving a place in the company of a third person, a well-known Russian blogger. This was actually the first time that these three people were seen together.”
Telegram in the crosshairs
It was from this date of June 25 that Juli would have been identified as a close friend of Pavel by the intelligence services. It was then easy to predict the computer scientist’s movements. “We notice that Durov is well aware of the issues of social networks and is careful to only publish after the fact, often a day after his return from vacation or his travels, specifies Baptiste. On the other hand, since it is his partner’s job, she publishes live, which could have provided the French investigators with valuable information, particularly concerning their arrival in Paris. I don’t know if this is the method that was used, but if I worked for an intelligence service, this is certainly what I would exploit.”
France triggered a real international shock by arresting Pavel Durov on Saturday, August 24 at Le Bourget airport. The Russian computer scientist, founder of Telegram, was the subject of an arrest warrant as part of a procedure targeting his platform for drug trafficking, glorification of terrorism and cyberbullying. On Monday, August 26, the Paris Prosecutor’s Office provided more specific information on the charges against him. They include twelve offences, including “complicity in possession of the image of a minor of a child pornography nature”, “complicity in acquisition, transport, possession, offer or transfer of narcotics”, and “complicity in fraud by an organised gang”.
The app is used by more than a billion people worldwide, including in Eastern Europe where it is as popular as WhatsApp. Used as much by activists seeking to avoid Russian censorship as by supporters of militias or terrorist groups, Telegram is a place to share violent photos and videos as well as hate speech and unmoderated pre-criminal content. This arrest has generated strong reactions, notably from the Russian government and far-right media figures like Elon Musk, who see it as an attack on freedom of expression.
1724735903
#Pavel #Durov #Arrested #Girlfriends #Instagram
