Secret Department of Bauman University in Russia Now Trains Hackers and Disinformation Agents for GRU — Investigation

Main building of Bauman Moscow State Technical University. Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Journalists from The Guardian, Der Spiegel, Le Monde, The Insider, Delfi, and VSquare obtained over two thousand internal documents from Bauman Moscow State Technical University. Among them are training programs, lecturer contracts, examination materials, and information on graduate placements.

These materials cover the period up to 2025 and reveal details of how the system for training future GRU officers is organized in Russia at "Department No. 4," also known as "Special Training."

Curriculum

According to the documents, Department No. 4, integrated into the university's military training center, is divided into three specialized areas. The most significant of these, under code 093400, is named "Special Intelligence Service."

The documents show that GRU representatives directly control student selection, administer exams, and decide where graduates will be assigned after completing their studies.

A former high-ranking official of the Russian Ministry of Defense described this system as a unique "conveyor belt": promising schoolchildren are selected at a young age, then they enter Bauman University, and from there they join the special services.

The head of the department is named as Lieutenant Colonel Kirill Stupakov — a specialist in electronic intelligence. According to the documents, in 2022, he signed a contract with military unit No. 45807, which is part of the GRU structure.

In his classes, Stupakov teaches methods of electronic surveillance and covert observation. Slides from PowerPoint presentations developed for his lectures demonstrate hidden cameras disguised as smoke detectors, devices for intercepting keystrokes, and monitor cables capable of secretly taking screenshots.

Among the lecturers mentioned is Major General Viktor Netyksha — a person whom the West considers one of the leaders of the hacker group Fancy Bear.

This GRU unit was accused by US authorities of interference in the 2016 US presidential elections.

According to the training materials obtained by journalists, one of the main courses, designed for 144 hours, is called "Protection against Technical Intelligence." Over two semesters, students study methods of attacking computer networks, software vulnerabilities, brute-forcing passwords, and using Trojan programs.

To complete the course, it is necessary to conduct practical network attacks and independently develop a computer virus.

Separate lectures are devoted to the structure of American and British special services, Western intelligence in the war in Ukraine, and the use of drones.

In addition to technical training, the program covers information warfare. Senior students must complete a seminar on developing a disinformation campaign.

Their task is to create social media videos using "manipulation, pressure, and covert propaganda." Future operatives are taught psychological manipulation mechanisms and how to impose the "correct" perception of information on an audience.

At the same time, the training materials are saturated with official Kremlin rhetoric. They claim that the war against Ukraine was "inevitable," that "nationalists and neo-Nazis" are allegedly in power in Kyiv, and that Russians in Donbas are allegedly facing "genocide" supported by European countries.

From the Classroom to Hacker Units

The documents allow tracking the further fate of graduates. Among the 69 students who graduated from the department in 2024, Daniil Porshin is mentioned. Over six years of study, he had almost flawless grades and played for the faculty's football team. After graduation, he was sent to Fancy Bear. Another 15 people from the same graduating class also received appointments to GRU structures.

One of the graduates was assigned to military unit No. 74455 in Anapa on the Black Sea. Western intelligence services believe that the notorious hacker group Sandworm is based there.

Павялічыць

FBI alert for the search of six members of GRU unit No. 74455, known as Sandworm, 2023. Photo: FBI

It is linked to high-profile Russian cyberattacks of the last decade: the hacking of the Ukrainian power grid in 2015, attacks on Emmanuel Macron's headquarters before the French elections, operations against the Winter Olympics in South Korea, and attempts to disrupt the Salisbury poisoning investigation.

However, not all students pass the selection. The documents contain harsh evaluations from GRU curators. One student, for example, was faulted for "insufficient understanding of how to conduct a remote network attack."

As the authors note, against the backdrop of Russia's increasing "hybrid" attacks on European countries, the program they uncovered at Bauman University appears to be part of a long-term state system for training personnel for cyber warfare. According to the documents, the next intake of students will complete their training in 2027.

However, sources close to the journalists claim that Bauman University is only one of several elite universities through which Russian special services select and train future hackers and intelligence officers. An even more important role, according to them, is played by MIREA University in Moscow.

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