After the arrest of Pavel Durov—the Telegram CEO—comes news of domestic extremists using the chat app to  organize.

Should’ve Listened to Edison

What’s the craic? Jeff Stone reports: Far-Right ‘Terrorgram’ Chatrooms Are Fueling a Wave of Power Grid Attacks

“Plots to attack energy facilities”
Law enforcement officials and other experts [note] a rising trend of far-right extremists targeting power infrastructure in an attempt to sow chaos. The most ambitious of these saboteurs hope to usher in societal collapse, paving the way for the violent overthrow of the US government, according to researchers who monitor far-right communities.
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They’ve been getting a boost recently from online venues such as “Terrorgram,” a loose network of channels on … Telegram where users across the globe advocate violent white supremacism. … Such domestic terrorism exemplifies the way that online subcultures can develop into real-world threats: … Lone individuals and small cells who become radicalized online then use accessible weapons to attack soft targets.
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Attacks on power facilities have spiked recently. Power companies reported 185 physical attacks or threats on grid infrastructure in 2023, more than double the number from 2021. … Since 2022, police have charged suspects in connection with plots to attack energy facilities in Idaho, Maryland and Ohio.

Is this related to the recent news out of France? Daryna Antoniuk has the latest: CEO has ‘nothing to hide’ as France reportedly extends his detention

“Judicial investigation”
Following the recent arrest of Pavel Durov, the founder and owner of the messaging app Telegram, the company [said] Durov “has nothing to hide” and that they are “awaiting a prompt resolution.” [The] Russian-born billionaire … was arrested at Le Bourget airport outside Paris, … and is being investigated by national cybercrime agencies. … An anonymous source close to the investigation [said] the initial period of Durov’s detention for questioning was extended.
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French President Emmanuel Macron dismissed claims [of] a “political decision:” … “France is deeply committed to freedom of expression and communication. The arrest … on French soil took place as part of an ongoing judicial investigation. … It is up to the judges to rule on the matter.”

But all the same, it’s scary and sinister—right? worstspotgain argues the opposite:

I’d argue the opposite. Putin is systematically bombing out the Ukrainian power grid. Meanwhile, his “extremist” minions are plotting and practicing taking out the US power grid, coordinating on a digital platform that seems to be under his grip. That’s far scarier and more sinister than some French investigation that nothing might come out of.
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Telegram is the enemy’s platform. You can use it (and Kaspersky and whatnot) in Moscow all you want. The days of using it in the US to plan attacks against the power grid have to come to an end.

Should we see this in the context of governments banning end-to-end encryption? Hardly, thinks Matthew Green:

This post is inspired by the recent and concerning news that … Durov has been arrested by French authorities for its failure to sufficiently moderate content. … The use of criminal charges to coerce social media companies is a pretty worrying escalation.[But] nearly every news report about the arrest refers to Telegram as an “encrypted messaging app.” … This phrasing drives me nuts.
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Telegram … does not end-to-end encrypt conversations by default. … The feature is explicitly not turned on for the vast majority of conversations, and is only available for one-on-one conversations, and never for group chats.
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Telegram … has continued to aggressively market Telegram as a “secure messenger.” [But] expert cryptographers would, in the context of something like a professional security audit, raise their hands and ask a lot of questions. … Though it doesn’t matter how secure something is if people aren’t actually using it.

Not encrypted, you say? Say it ain’t so! DovePig says it’s so:

To be fair, it wasn’t just the CSAM … in their actually … unencrypted group chats. It was also being used by plenty of petty criminals, drug sellers, malware bots, … groups disseminating Russian disinformation, nazi images, or grisly rape and execution videos.
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Oh, and Russian army using it for coordinating artillery attacks on Ukrainian cities. … All of that [in] unencrypted group chats.

And Telegram stood by and did nothing? Sounds fair that France should feel his collar. Oh, Khaptain, my captain:

Be very careful about what you are wishing for. … If any govt or 3LA starts cracking down on what can and cannot be said, then we are heading straight for a dictatorship.
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It’s one thing to be ideological, but one has to remember that that very ideology will eventually be used against you. … It will only end in a lose/lose situation for all.

What’s that smell? Speaking Sirloin puts a steak in the ground:

It’s an open secret that, for example, the Islamic State and similar organized groups are using it. I see in my job that Telegram is not cooperating with the law.

Won’t somebody think of the children? rg287 waxes pedagogic:

Durov is being held for his absolutist view on cooperating with the authorities on serious, abhorrent and objectively important issues like Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM). Every single major messaging and social platform will cooperate with authorities on matters of CSAM. Even if they have E2E encryption and can’t turn over images, they’ll help with metadata analysis or turn over what they can.
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Everyone except Telegram. Telegram now has a reputation for being the place to go if you want to share child porn.
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It was becoming a matter of when — not if — someone finally decided to hold Durov to account. Musk should take note: His disregard for misinformation and unlawful content on Xitter … is leading him down the same path.

Can we return to the question of the grid for a moment? This Anonymous Coward paints a frightening picture:

The second American Civil War will have 100 million dead in a few months. Instead of a few nuts shooting substations, … they’ll all get popped within a few days, removing power, water and sanitation from the cities—all of the cites, at the same time.
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Power transmission passes through rural areas. These are soft, immobile targets, all already known and mapped. … If all active duty military, and all reserves, were called up, they can’t provide effective protection for more than a tiny fraction of the targets. Spare parts do not exist to replace more than a fraction of a percent, which means you can’t fix them.
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There will be no winners. They have no idea how bad it will be. … If/when society collapses, it gets dark, very dark, and then a grue eats us all.

Meanwhile, mmell makes light of the situation: [You’re fired—Ed.]

If you really want to disrupt the grid, let the Electric Reliability Council of Texas run it.

And Finally:

John Rowley asks the burning questions

Previously in And Finally

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