The Russian Defense Ministry implements new telephone restrictions on staff

Pitched as a cost-cutting measure, the Russian Defense Ministry has introduced new internal restrictions on telephone use, according to the newspaper Kommersant.

The ministry has reportedly divided its staff into five categories of access, where the time and amount of money an individual can spend on telephones connected to public networks are limited. A source told the newspaper that the new rules are really intended to reduce sensitive information leaks and expand the ministry’s control over its staff.

This wouldn’t be the Defense Ministry’s only recent attempt to crack down on leaks. Officials have encouraged soldiers to stay off social media and disable geolocation on their phones. The Defense Ministry has also tried to cut the number of mobile phones in the field, distributing cryptographically protected Russian-made devices to commanding officers.