FSB claims foreign spies using fake photo contest to collect intel in Russia

(MENAFN) Russian authorities have issued a warning about an alleged espionage operation disguised as a patriotic photo contest, claiming it was orchestrated by foreign intelligence services—likely Ukrainian, according to a counter-disinformation watchdog.

On Monday, a regional branch of the Federal Security Service (FSB) alerted the public that certain online contests could be traps designed to involve participants in illegal intelligence-gathering activities.

The FSB pointed to one suspicious contest that asked entrants to submit high-resolution photographs of strategic sites like bridges, railway hubs, and industrial complexes. Officials warned that such images could be used to collect intelligence and transfer it to foreign agencies, threatening Russia’s national security.

Russian media traced the alert to a questionable online ad for a photo contest, which contained a typo in the word “contest”—possibly a sign that AI was used in its creation. The contest also lacked legal transparency, including the absence of published rules and required consent forms for processing personal data, both mandatory under Russian law.

Lapsha Media, a Russian anti-disinformation group, suggested the contest was a Ukrainian intelligence operation. This accusation comes amid a growing number of Ukrainian drone and sabotage attacks targeting infrastructure deep within Russian territory.

For instance, a late-May train derailment in Bryansk Region—caused by a planted explosive—killed seven and injured over a hundred people. Investigators linked the act to a broader Ukrainian sabotage campaign.

Separately, the FSB previously claimed in May that Ukrainian military intelligence had tried to access personal data on Russian schoolchildren. Allegedly, Kiev’s agents used phishing tactics to trick school officials into handing over databases, with the goal of recruiting minors for espionage.

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