TUT.by discloses email passwords to secret services

The website owner denied this possibility some months ago.

Ex-CIA whistleblower Edward Snowden, who told about the PRISM program and work of American security services on the internet, brought to focus the issue of monitoring internet users activity by security services. It's obvious that the US security services are not the only agencies trying to get access to confidential information, but details of how Belarusian secret services get access to people's private life don't appear often.

The website electroname.com obtained one of such documents. It includes pages from a criminal case against Aleh Krauchanka initiated 18 months ago. The Operative and Analytical Centre (OAC) and the Interior Ministry received passwords to emails registered on TUT.by as well as access logs and other information.

In late May, Belarusian internet users were discussing an interview of Yury Zisser, the website owner, with Nasha Niva newspaper. Yury Zisser blamed the newspaper for ignorance and lies, which provoked even a hotter debate than the interview itself. Zisser express his indignation on Facebook:

“Any words can be taken out of the context. This time the headline allegedly quoted me, though I have never said such words: 'Zisser: TUT.by gives Operative and Analytical Centre access to users' emails'. Firstly, it didn't give access to the OAC and other agencies. Secondly, the OAC has never made a single request to us for the years of its existence. Thirdly, no one – neither secret services nor other agencies – have had access to our emails for 13 years. Journalists changed the headline after my phone call to the newspaper, but the article under the false headline was available during several hours. It can be seen from comments. Nasha Niva, aren't you ashamed?”

The following documents refute the words of the TUT.by owner. There's a detail that may seem interesting: email passwords are original. They were created by the user and were not changed.

The fact of disclosing data on requests from security services is not strange. This is an ordinary procedure in any country. However, Belarus has its peculiarities. Firstly, Belarusian courts cannot be called independent. Secondly, security services can tap phones and have access to emails not only on a prosecutor's request, but also on decisions of the director of the Financial Investigation Department or the heads of the Interior Ministry and the KGB. These practices give security services a free hand and make any citizen helpless in the face of law-enforcement bodies.