Mastodawn

Check First Jul 18, 2025

[🔴 NEW REPORT] Today, we are proud to publish our latest investigation into the FSB’s 16th Center. This unit has been publicly accused of operating some of Russia's most sophisticated cyber-espionage groups.
🔗 https://checkfirst.network/decoding-secrets-through-symbols-how-military-insignia-revealed-russias-hidden-sigint-network/

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Check First Jul 18, 2025

To unveil the infrastructure of the 16th Center, we employed a combination of unusual and traditional OSINT techniques. Our primary sources were hundreds of photographs of Russian insignia available on specialised websites.

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Thanks to phaleristics, we were able to gain insight into the unit's current
symbolism.

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Check First Jul 18, 2025

Each interception centre also has a unique way of depicting itself through its insignia, as can be seen in these two examples from our report.

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Check First Jul 18, 2025

If you have any questions about this report, please write to us at info[a]checkfirst[dot]network. Thanks for reading!