A new document published on the Russian government's legal-information online portal reveals how the Federal Security Service (FSB) intends to collect the data necessary for decrypting messages exchanged over the Internet.

According to the document, the Organizational-Analytic Department of the FSB's Scientific-Technical staff will be responsible for collecting encryption keys. “Organizers of information dissemination” (the clunky legal term Russian officials use to identify virtually any website or online service) will be required to provide this information to the FSB, upon written request. These requests will indicate the format and the address of any information that FSB officials want decoded.

Websites and online services can comply with these orders from the FSB by mailing in the decrypted data on disc, or emailing the information. The document published online also indicates that “information-dissemination organizers” can provide direct access to the FSB, though it's unclear what exactly this entails.

In July, Vladimir Putin signed legislation requiring “information-dissemination organizers” to provide Russia's authorities with the data necessary to decrypt anything shared over the Internet. Putin later ordered the FSB to collect encryption keys from online resources, in order to implement the new law, which was promoted as an “anti-terrorist” measure. On July 25, the FSB reported that it had completed the president's instructions, and sent the documentation to the Justice Ministry for publication. (The document was not published immediately, however.)

Currently, the Russian government has added 65 different websites to its official registry of “information-dissemination organizers,” including RuNet giants like the search engine Yandex, the social network Vkontakte, and the email service Mail.ru. Officials have also added several major media outlets, both national and regional. Officials have yet to approach foreign companies like Facebook, Twitter, Google, or Telegram.