Bauman Moscow State Technical University Graduates Recruited by Russian Military Intelligence

A consortium of international media outlets obtained 2,000 documents revealing that Bauman Moscow State Technical University has been training Russian military intelligence officers, particularly hackers. The documents include lists of students and professors along with course plans.

Le Monde reported that the files offer an unprecedented view of the militarization of education at the prestigious Moscow institution.

Daniil Porshin, a 25-year-old from Irkutsk in Siberia, ranked among the top students at Bauman Moscow State Technical University from 2018 to 2024. His overall grades often came close to a perfect score. Porshin also played for the university's football team while pursuing his engineering studies.

Porshin took classes titled cryptography and computer network security. He learned how to crack a password, create a virus and hack a server. Upon graduating in 2024, Porshin joined Unit 26165 of the GRU, the Russian military intelligence agency.

Unit 26165 is also known as Fancy Bear or APT28. The group is accused of hacking the French TV channel TV5 Monde in 2015. It is also accused of stealing emails from Emmanuel Macron's team in early 2017 and of targeting institutions involved in organizing the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.

Fifteen students with similar academic backgrounds also joined Russian military intelligence in 2024. The documents were obtained by a consortium that includes Le Monde, Der Spiegel, The Insider, The Guardian, Delfi and VSquare. Le Monde reported the findings in an article published on 2026-05-07 at 6:01 am Paris time.

Porshin did not respond to questions from Le Monde. The investigation focused on Department Number Four, where classes in advanced cyber techniques were held. Le Monde reported that the course plans went beyond standard cybersecurity training into explicitly offensive skills.