Centre 16 for the Collection of Radio-Electronic Intelligence on Communication Facilities(TsRRSS)

Centre 16 for the Collection of Radio-Electronic Intelligence on Communication Facilities (TsRRSS) is a subdivision of the Federal Security Service (FSB). It answers directly to the FSB director. It oversees electronic intelligence and cyber operations, including intercepting, decrypting, and processing electronic messages and penetrating foreign targets. It was created on the basis of the 3rd Main Directorate of the Federal Agency of Government Communications and Information (FAPSI) when FAPSI was dissolved in 2003 (Soldatov and Borogan, 2010; Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office, 2023).

In December 2023, the United Kingdom identified it as one of the FSB’s cyber units engaged in espionage operations against it. It claimed that the centre had been engaging in cyber operations since at least 2010, including attacks on the energy sector in 2014 and the aviation sector in 2020. It also alleged that the centre had a long history of employing Snake malware “to collect sensitive information from specific targets, such as government networks, research facilities and journalists,” as well as domestic dissidents (Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office, 2023).