The Largest "lair" Of Russian Electronic Intelligence Is Uncovered In Vienna

Russians can keep an eye on the headquarters of the UN, OSCE, IAEA and OPEC.

Austria does not pursue activities related to espionage against third countries, so Vienna remains one of the key centers of Russian intelligence activity in Europe. While other European states have expelled hundreds of Russian diplomats, Austria still has about 500, and local authorities estimate that about a third of them are intelligence-related. This is according to the Financial Times.

Over the past two years, many new antennas and surveillance systems have appeared on the roofs of Russian-owned buildings in Vienna - not just diplomatic ones.

Satellite dishes to communicate with the capital are at all diplomatic missions. However, as an employee of a Western intelligence service in Vienna told the publication, Russian antennas are actively used for targeting various satellites. According to him, they usually do not need to be reoriented to communicate with Moscow. For example, on the eve of the Munich Security Conference in February, one of the largest antennas was turned in the other direction, and the very next day after the conference ended, it returned to its previous position.

The source also noted that Western intelligence services over the past two years have recorded the installation of new antennas and other unusual devices on the roofs of Russian facilities. The largest Russian compound in Vienna on the banks of the Danube, known as Russencity ("Russian City"), is considered one of the key such locations.

According to Erich Möchel, a spokesman for NomenNescio, a group of local electronic communications specialists who monitor Russian surveillance systems, the compound's location is extremely favorable. About 100 kilometers to the east is one of Europe's largest satellite stations, and Vienna itself is home to the headquarters and offices of many international organizations, including the United Nations, OSCE, IAEA and OPEC.

"Most of the antennas in Russencity point westward - toward a series of 18 geostationary satellites orbiting between the prime meridian and 15 degrees east longitude," Möchel explained. According to NomenNescio, at least four of these satellites are used to provide communications between Africa and Europe.

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